Houses Of Alawites In Syrian Capital Marked With ‘X’ Ahead Of Forced Evacuation (Photos, Video)

Illustrative image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)

A faction affiliated with Syria’s Islamist-led Interim Government has marked houses owned by members of the Alawite community in Soumariyyeh, a suburb located in the western outskirts of the capital, Damascus, with “X” symbols and demanded the residents to evacuate as soon as possible.

Hundreds of the fighters from the faction closed all entrances to Soumariyyeh on August 26, before storming the impoverished suburb.

All males from the Alawite sects, including children as young as ten and elderly in their 70s, were gathered and beaten up first.

The locals sent complaints to the office of Damascus Governor and the Interior Ministry. However, they were ignored. On top of that, when a group of women gathered to protest, they were assaulted by uniformed members of the General Security Service.

Eviction orders published later appeared to be signed by the “Public Housing Committee.” The orders state: “We inform all those residing in unofficial housing in the al-Sumariya neighborhood to evacuate all homes within a maximum period of 72 hours.”

Residents were reportedly forced to sign documents waiving their property rights. In addition, incidents of looting gold jewelry and stealing cash from homes were also reported.

Click to see full-size image. (X)

Click to see full-size image. (X)

In response to the events, the anti-government Alawite Islamic Supreme Council in Syria and the Diaspora published a condemnation statement.

“We reject the crimes and violations of the de facto regime, led by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in the al-Sumariya area of Damascus. This regime invaded homes and forcibly evacuated residents simply because they belonged to the Alawite sect,” the statement reads.

The statement further noted that authorities “ignored legal documents proving home ownership,” brutally attacked, publicly humiliated, and hurled sectarian insults at residents, including assaulting women.

At least 500,000 Alawites are reported to be living in Damascus, away from their heartland on the coast of Syria. Most of them reside in Soumariyyeh and nearby suburbs in the western outskirts of the capital.

The events in Soumariyyeh were widely interpreted by Syrian activists as an act of forcible displacement, as the evacuation order lacked any legal basis.

Many warned that Soumariyyeh may be just the first step of a wider plan meant to completely cleanse Damascus from Alawites, to whom former president Bahsar al-Assad belongs. And while the faction carrying out the evacuation does not seem to hold any official position, per say, the lack of any reaction from the side of the government, suggests that it is complicit in what is happening.

Last March a government crackdown on an Alawite uprising on the coast left more than 1,500 Alawite civilians dead. Since then, the government has made no real efforts to engage with the Alawite community, estimated to be between two and three millions. Now, tensions between the two are once again rising.

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