Thousands of Syria’s Alawites protest against what they say is discrimination by the government

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Thousands of members of Syria’s Alawite minority sect demonstrated in the country’s central and coastal regions Tuesday against what they say are acts of discrimination by the new Syrian government.

An opposition war monitor said security forces opened fire, wounding one person, while authorities said they protected the protesters, according to state media.

The protests come after several waves of sectarian clashes in the country since the fall of President Bashar Assad in December last year by insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Assad, himself an Alawite, had fled the country to Russia. Members of his sect have been subjected to crackdowns. In March, an ambush carried out by Assad’s supporters against security forces triggered days of sectarian attacks that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites.

Tuesday’s protests, in areas including the cities of Latakia and Tartus and Homs in the center, came two days after a couple from a Bedouin tribe were killed, triggering renewed clashes after some Bedouins attacked a predominantly Alawite neighborhood in the city of Homs, Syria’s third largest.

The spiritual leader of Syria’s Alawites Ghazal Ghazal called on supporters in a video to hold “peaceful protests” on Monday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called the protests a “peaceful Alawite uprising,” which took place in 42 locations in the country’s west. It said the protesters had several demands, including thr ight to self-determination, the release of Alawites detained since Assad’s fall, and an end to all acts of violence against members of their sect.

The war monitor also said one was wounded in the coastal city of Latakia.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba said security forces protected the demonstrators. He called on residents of the coastal region to avoid “falling for schemes and the people behind them that aim to bring instability to the region,” reported state TV.