(Asharq Al-Awsat-UK) An opposition Alawite religious cleric who recently fled to Turkey revealed that "the Alawite community is living in a state of great fear, after we have become aware that the collapse of the al-Assad regime is imminent, which will place us at the mercy of fierce reprisals from the Sunni majority." "Many Alawite families have already fled their homes in Damascus and returned to their villages in the Latakia countryside." The cleric said that he and other Alawite activists had called on the Alawite community "not to become embroiled in killing their Syrian brothers." The cleric also criticized the Syrian National Council and Syrian National Coalition, saying "the opposition has failed to put forward practical steps to reassure the Alawite community and convince them to abandon the al-Assad family."
2012-12-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive