By the Workers’ Democracy Party (IDP), Turkish section of the IWU-FI
Last Thursday, escalating armed clashes between pro-Assad armed groups and the armed forces of the HTS-led transitional government escalated into a massacre and pogrom against Alawite civilians in coastal areas of Syria, including Latakia, Baniyas, Tartus and Jabalah. Although many sources have not yet been able to provide a clear figure, it is estimated that, in total, between 600 and 1,500 people were killed, a significant number of whom were civilians, and included armed forces from both sides.
The main perpetrators of this massacre are the armed forces of the transitional government, who turned the conflict with the armed groups supporting Assad into a massacre of civilians, and the religious and revanchist groups, that were not stopped or were consciously allowed by the transitional government.
The mobilisation of the Syrian people is necessary to bring all those responsible for this massacre of Alawite civilians to justice and to put a permanent end to the growing tension between different factions of religious fanaticism or theocratic Islamism. These events also reveal the dangers inherent in the whole transition process that has been unfolding in the country since the overthrow of the Assad dynasty.
The popular uprising that began in 2011, with demands for freedom and dignity against the Assad dictatorship, was turned into a civil war by the regime, the countries of the region and imperialism. The conflict between different religious factions was provoked by these same political groups. At this point, while the overthrow of the Assad regime is an important step for the Syrian people to achieve their demands of 2011, the practice of civil war is still very fresh and religious divisions continue to pose a serious threat.
So far, the Al-Sharaa led ‘transitional’ government has prioritised the maintenance of its own political power over the demands of the Syrian people, women, LGBTI+ people and national and religious minorities during the ‘transitional’ process. This leaves the ‘transitional’ government out of control and non-inclusive; it thus assumes a character that intensifies national, religious and sectarian tension.
The actions of pro-Assad armed groups, which have increased significantly in the last three weeks, play an important role in the escalation of this tension. It is no coincidence that the actions of these armed groups have increased recently. As the Al-Sharaa administration attempts to consolidate its power, the Assad regime has been able to attract a significant part of the residual bureaucracy. Moreover, the government’s efforts to reach a compromise with some powerful segments of Assad’s oligarchy have recently gained momentum. The decision by a significant segment of Assadists to become part of the ‘transition’ process has led to those left behind being pushed into a more radical position.
All these dangers of the ‘transition’ process, which we have listed here and mentioned in many other articles, require the mobilisation and struggle for the demands of freedom and dignity for which the Syrian people have paid a high price already. Demands such as the prosecution of all war criminals, the removal of obstacles to the creation of political parties, the holding of elections to the Constituent Assembly for a constitution that guarantees all democratic and social rights of the Syrian people, women, LGBTI+ people, national and religious minorities, and the development of local committees and people’s self-organisation around these demands, which were widespread in 2011 and are now being re-established in some regions, will be decisive in the course of the Syrian people’s mobilisation and struggle.
