Coastal Alawite Perspectives: Interview with a Media Activist

It has been more than a year since the coastal massacres in which large numbers of Alawite civilians were killed by government forces and pro-government militiamen following a coordinated Alawite insurgent attack on government positions in Latakia. As shown in a recent investigative report by the New Arab, the process of real accountability for the massacres has been seriously flawed in both evidence gathering and investigation, while for many survivors of the massacres, the publicised trials seem more for political show and optics.

But not all Alawite experiences on the coast are uniformly bad. Some Alawite localities have enjoyed an overall better relation with the new authorities.