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Massacres of Civilians Signal New Phase in Syria's Civil War
(The National-UAE) Michael Young - The massacres of Syrian civilians in the predominantly Sunni city of Baniyas and the nearby town of Bayda last week were particularly alarming. The regime regards control over Homs and its surrounding area as a matter of strategic importance. Homs lies on the main communications line between Damascus and the coast. It is also a vital escape route if Assad and his acolytes decide to withdraw to Alawite areas along the coast. If the Alawites decide to create a rump state, one of their objectives will be to ensure that Sunnis do not challenge this plan. That means Sunnis must either be terrorized into silence or forced out of coastal areas. There is still a significant Sunni population in coastal cities such as Tartous and Latakiya, and in the latter, Sunnis form a majority. We are witnessing a consolidation of the Alawite statehood option as a fallback position. The Syrian conflict is entering a new phase, where long-term territorial plans and alliances are taking shape. The writer is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut.