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Two weeks after rebels overthrew the Assad regime, protests and accusations start up over the new government.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN DECEMBER 26, 2024 14:19
Rebel fighters pose as they hold a Syrian opposition flag at the Umayyad Mosque, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 9, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH)
A night of protests and the sight of armed men roaming the streets of several areas of Syria have provided the new government of Syria with its largest challenge to date since it took power on December 8.
The government of Ahmed Sharaa has sought to placate critics and downplay concerns that it will bring into power an extreme version of religiousness incompatible with Syria’s diverse landscape of peoples, which includes Druze, Alawites, Christians, and Kurds.
However, after more than two weeks of relative calm, where the former regime seemed to melt away as if it had never existed, there are now protests and accusations by both sides that the bad old days of sectarian killing and civil strife have returned.
It’s very difficult to confirm which side is telling the truth. What is clear is that the government has deployed armed men to crack down on perceived threats of former regime elements, or even Iranian agents, in some parts of Syria.
On the other side of the coin, the protesters are pointing to various reasons for their demonstrations, including concerns over the persecution of Christians and Alawites.
The Alawite minority is the same group that Bashar al-Assad and his father came from, and as such, the group fears that it may face persecution because of perceived ties to the old regime.
What matters now is whether the government can restore security and whether it will stop having men roaming around areas of Homs or Lattakia with weapons, shooting in the air, or performing various state functions that appear more authoritarian than legitimate.
Perceptions matter, and Ahmed Sharaa knows this. He has done a lot to reach out to various groups and portray the new government as inclusive. However, his supporters are not necessarily as keen on reconciliation.
It’s worth noting that in recent days, Sharaa has met with the heads of a dozen or more armed groups and received a pledge from them to join a new unified military force. However, this will take time.
Damascus also doesn’t have the weapons or armored vehicles necessary to project power. This means it must rely still on men with AK-47s driving around in the back of pick-up trucks or hastily mustered new police and paramilitary forces.
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These types of forces, ill-trained and unready, will be more likely to perform extrajudicial killings.
One narrative in Syria says that Iran and the former regime are stirring up trouble.
Proponents of this narrative point to messages from Iran pushing chaos in Syria and saying that people should rise up. They even point to a confiscated ID of a man from Lebanon, arguing that Hezbollah may be involved in the plot.
Yesterday, the Syrian foreign minister warned Iran from plotting against Syria and stirring up problems internal to Syria. In one video that made the rounds online, men allegedly linked to Iran are accused of trying to kidnap and kill a Sunni man in Lattakia.
Levant24, a local media organization, put up a video on December 26 accusing people in Tartous, Homs, and Lattakia of stirring up “sectarian” tensions.
The reports that claim that armed elements of the former regime or men linked to Iran are stirring up chaos assert that curfews and searches for weapons are necessary to put down these demonstrations and threats.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said on December 26 that “security has been restored in Tartus, with civil peace maintained and several remnants of the former Iranian-backed regime neutralized. Operations continue to pursue regime remnants in the forests and hills of the region."
However, the scenes of clashes and uncertainty regarding what is happening in some areas of Syria have led other minority groups and regions to be concerned.
In eastern Syria, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said that “what is happening on the Syrian coast against our Alawite brothers, as well as the burning of Christmas trees in Hama a few days ago, and also in Homs, does not serve Syria’s interests or its future. Preserving Syrian national diversity and richness is a crucial foundation for building a strong Syria."
This illustrates the concerns that the Kurdish areas of eastern Syria have about what comes next. If they give up their current autonomy, will they end up like Lattakia? Currently, the Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria are backed by the US, and they feel they have some protection. However, there are many calls in Damascus for the new government to assert control in eastern Syria.
The protests and incidents overnight between December 25 and December 26 were in contrast to the positive vibes of Christmas Eve in Syria.
Damascus will need to project both strength and tolerance in the coming days if it is to shore up the situation.
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