There is still unrest in Syria after at least eight people were killed on Friday in a bomb attack on an Alawite mosque in Homs, a city in the west of the country. The AP reports that several demonstrators clashed on Sunday in the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous.
Earlier this week, an explosive device went off at the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque during Friday afternoon prayers, usually the busiest time of the day. The authorities assume a terrorist aim. A relatively unknown group called Saraya Ansar al-Sunna has now claimed responsibility for the attack, AP writes. In a statement on messaging service Telegram, the group reportedly said that Alawites were the target of the attack.
The dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was deposed at the end of 2024, belonged to the Alawite religious community, a breakaway from the Shiites, who form a minority in Syria. Since a new regime came to power, there has been a lot of unrest between various groups in the country and within the army. Thousands of Alawites were killed, mainly by groups loyal to the current government. In July, hundreds of Druze, also a religious minority, were killed in southern Syria.
Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite leader living outside Syria, called for demonstrations after the attack on Friday. On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators gathered in various Syrian cities, AP writes. An AP photographer saw pro-government counter-protesters throwing stones at the Alawite demonstrators, while others fought with each other.
Security authorities fired several warning shots in an attempt to keep the groups apart. Several people were injured, but precise numbers are not available. Two police officers in Tartous were injured after a protester threw a hand grenade at a police station, according to Syrian state media. Several cars were also reportedly set on fire.
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