Angry protests broke out Wednesday in the heartland of deposed Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority, a war monitor and witnesses said, after a video circulated showing an attack on a shrine.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said thousands-strong demonstrations took place in the coastal cities of Tartus and Latakia, both Alawite strongholds, as well as in parts of the central city of Homs and other areas, including Assad's hometown of Qardaha.