Eurasia Press & News
On December 8, 2024, the Military Operations Command comprising Syrian jihadi group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other jihadi and militant factions captured Damascus and toppled the Assad regime. On the following day, the Military Operations Command announced a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted under compulsory service. Al-Joulani promised amnesty to “those whose hands have not been stained with the blood of the Syrian people” on December 10, while vowing to bring to justice “the criminals, killers, and security and army officers who were involved in torturing the Syrian people” and demand the extradition of those who have fled to other countries.[1]
The Alawites, pejoratively known as “Nusayris,” are a religious group originating as an esoteric Shi’ite sect, although Salafi-jihadis do not consider the group Muslim. Hafez Al-Assad was Alawite, as is his son Bashar, and the sect largely supported the regime until the last days before its fall. The sect’s members mostly live in the Syrian coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus, which were captured by militants in the days following the fall of Damascus.
Prior to the regime’s fall, the Department of Political Affairs in the HTS-linked Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) had reached out to Alawites in a December 4 statement, inviting them to “reject sectarianism” and “become part of the future Syria.”[2]
Following the regime’s collapse, Alawite leaders have sought reassurance that their members will be included in the amnesty and protected by the Military Operations Command. In recent days, there have been unverified reports both of jihadi attacks on Alawites and of Alawite attacks on militants. Some supporters of HTS – which for years spoke against “Nusayris” as enemies and infidels[3] – have incited vengeance against Alawites, while Islamic State (ISIS) supporters have condemned HTS for not massacring them.
Alawite Sheikhs Request Amnesty For All Sects
On December 9, Syrian Telegram channels shared a three-minute video statement by sheikhs of the “Alawite Muslim sect” in Syria. Declaring that Alawites historically played an important role in Syria’s “independence and unity,” the sheikhs called for “nationalism and … love and peace,” stating that after the “painful events” which the country experienced in recent years, they desire to “begin a new page in our country’s future.” Accordingly, the sheikhs requested a “general amnesty” applying to all Syrian sects and asked for guarantees that people can return to their homes safely. Forbidding people to bear arms outside the “legitimate institutions,” the Alawite sheikhs declared: “Our hand is extended to build a better future, Allah willing.”[4]
Alawite Sheikhs Condemn Robbery-Murder Of Sect Members, Urge Military Operations Command To Execute Killers And Form Councils To Protect Alawite Areas
On December 13, Telegram channels supporting Iran-backed Iraqi militias shared another statement issued in the name of the sheikhs of Syria’s “Alawite Islamic sect.” In the statement, titled “Strife Is Worse than Killing” (Quran 2:191), the sheikhs condemned an alleged December 12 attack by armed men claiming to be HTS operatives on the home of two Alawite brothers in the Ra’s Al-Shamra area, north of Latakia, in which a sum of money was stolen and the brothers “martyred.” Warning against a repetition of similar actions, the sheikhs urged Alawites to be on their “highest levels of awareness and self-control” and avoid being drawn into “any sectarian strife.” They demanded that the Military Operations Command execute the killers, to send a lesson to “weak-minded people and inciters of sectarian prejudices,” form joint councils comprised of Military Operations Command members and locals to protect Alawite areas, and ban raids on homes without a court order and coordination with the councils.[5]
Reported Jihadi Massacre Of Alawite Villagers
Telegram channels supporting Iran-backed Iraqi militias reported on December 11 that Alawite residents of Al-‘Aziziyah village, in the Al-Ghab plain northwest of Hama, had been massacred by “terrorist gangs.” According to the claims – which were not reported on Syrian Telegram channels – members of Turkey-backed “takfiri groups ” beheaded the village’s men and youths in front of their wives and children after forcing them to surrender their weapons.[6]
Reported Attack On Military Operations Command Operatives By Alawites
On December 14, Syrian jihadi Telegram channels reported that 15 members of the Military Operations Command had been “killed treacherously” in Al-Hakim village, east of Latakia, after being ambushed by Alawites, while policing security in the area.[7]
Later reports clarified that there were 17 casualties, three killed and 14 wounded, noting that they were members of the Faylaq Al-Sham faction.[8]
Pro-HTS Channel Incites Against Alawites, Threatens Revenge Against Them
The pro-HTS “Kumat Al-Harb” [Brave in War] Telegram channel incited against Alawites, insisting that the amnesty given to those who had supported the Assad regime should not apply to them.[9] On December 9, the channel wrote that anyone who grants amnesty to “the Alawite criminals and the officers who killed the nation since 2011” is a “criminal” and partner to the regime’s crimes, demanding that HTS leader Ahmad Al-Shar’ aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani prosecute all those who killed Syrians, “chiefly the Alawites and officers.”
In another post, the channel added that if they are not prosecuted, “no one can blame us if we do so ourselves. We the people can settle scores with all those who destroyed our land and killed our brothers.”
The channel continued: “We did not sacrifice our lives, land, and most precious, pure blood so that criminal Nusayris who killed and tortured the Syrian people will live. No, by Allah! If our rightful [revenge] is not taken, we will take it ourselves. Whoever sides with the Nusayris is our first enemy.”
Threatening Alawites directly, the channel added: “O Nusayris, do you think that we will forget our rightful [revenge] against you? … Do you think that if the new regime forgives you, we have forgiven you? No, by Allah, we will never forgive you … Our silenced weapons will split you open. Wait.”
Pro-ISIS Channel Condemns HTS-Linked Authorities For Granting Amnesty To Alawites
A prominent pro-ISIS Telegram channel lashed out at the HTS-linked authorities for granting amnesty to Alawites, asserting that they should have been killed.[10]
On December 16, the pro-ISIS “Sawt Al-Zarqawi” channel shared an archival video and photo of ISIS’ 2014 massacre of “700 Nusayris” fighting for the regime who were captured at the Al-Tabqah Airbase in Syria’s Raqqa governorate, declaring that these images “bring healing to the hearts of the believers and enrage the vetted apostates.” Lashing out at HTS, Sawt Al-Zarqawi contrasted “our conquests and massacres” with “their allying with Nusayris and granting them amnesty.”In another post, Sawt Al-Zarqawi lashed out at the “vetted ones,” i.e. HTS and other Syrian rebel factions, for their “lack of honor and manliness.” Accusing Alawites of raping Syrian Sunni women, destroying their homes, and killing their men, the channel declared that after such acts, and seeing the horrors the Assad regime perpetrated at the Saydnaya prison, “their hearts should be filled with rage at the Nusayris,” but instead HTS told Alawites: “Go, you are free.”
[1] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Leader Al-Joulani Vows To Prosecute And Demand Extradition Of ‘War Criminals’ Involved In ‘Torturing Syrian People’; Militant Operations Room Offers Reward For Information On Secret Regime Prisons, December 10, 2024. [2] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham-Led Syrian Salvation Government Emphasizes ‘Diversity And Inclusion’ In Letters Addressed To Kurds, Alawites, And Residents Of Hama: ‘In Syria Of The Future, Diversity Will Be Our Strength, Not Our Weakness’, December 4, 2024. [3] For a recent example, see MEMRI JTTM Report: Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Supporters Celebrate Death Of Hizbullah’s Nasrallah As Divine Revenge For His ‘Crimes,’ Warn Against Shi’ite And Zionist Enemies Of Sunnis, October 1, 2024. [4] Telegram, December 9, 2024. [5] Telegram, December 13, 2024. [6] Telegram, December 11, 2024; Telegram.me/shajab_news, December 11, 2024. [7] Telegram, December 14, 2024. [8] Telegram, December 14, 2024. [9] Telegram, December 9, 2024. [10] Telegram, December 16, 2024.
