Security clampdown hits Syria’s Alawite cities ahead of planned protests
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Security forces of the Syrian transitional government intensified on Sunday measures across Syria’s coastal region amid rising tensions and calls for mass peaceful demonstrations, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
SOHR activists reported escalating security repression, including the closure of al-Qosour neighborhood in Baniyas city, as well as the towns of al-Qadmous and al-Anarah and other areas in the Tartus countryside.
The activists said that security personnel carried out strict inspections of residents, checked identification documents, and forced civilians to use alternative routes in an apparent attempt to prevent demonstrators from reaching public squares.
All roads leading to the Sheikh Badr area were also closed, SOHR said, coinciding with growing public concern over a possible serious escalation.
According to SOHR sources, various areas along the Syrian coast witnessed heavy deployments of masked security members and the blocking of roads, triggering a state of panic and anxiety among residents.
Syrian authorities have so far issued no official statement explaining the reasons behind the heightened security measures.
The developments come ahead of a call by Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, Head of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Alawite community and head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora, to stage mass peaceful demonstrations on Sunday between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
In a strongly worded statement, Sheikh Ghazal expressed deep anger within the Alawite community, saying what he described as a “wrath of dignity” had reached its peak and that the coming phase would be “critical and decisive.”
He stressed that the planned protests would be massive but peaceful, aimed at rejecting humiliation and marginalization and affirming the people’s presence in the streets.
Sheikh Ghazal also rejected any projects imposed by force and reiterated demands linked to political self-determination, warning against what he described as a “war of extermination,” while stressing that the community does not seek civil war.
The rising tensions follow an explosion at Imam Ali Mosque in the predominantly Alawite Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs days ago, which killed eight people and wounded 27 others, including three children.