Disinformation stokes Alawi unease as Assad loyalists pursued in Syria

Every road leading into Mezzeh 86 has a checkpoint in front of it.

A security cordon has encircled the Alawi-majority neighbourhood of Damascus, as Syria's new authorities try to put a lid on a sudden bout of unrest.

On Wednesday night, scores of youths - some armed - gathered in Mezzeh 86's streets, banging on the shutters of shops and demanding rights for the Alawi community.

In response, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leading rebel group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad's government, deployed fighters to the area, firing their guns in the air to disperse the crowd.

Talks with Alawi elders helped calm the situation, and eventually everyone went back to their homes.

HTS fighters told Middle East Eye they have not entered the neighbourhood since but demanded people hand over their weapons. So far, no one has.

'There is a connection between accounts linked to Russia, Iran, people who are pro-Hezbollah and the regime's electronic army, who all tweet together, who amplify each other's narratives'

- Nora al-Jezawi, Verify Syria

The demonstration in Mezzeh 86 was one of several across Alawi areas on Wednesday, including in Latakia, Tartus and Homs.

Alawis told MEE the protests were prompted by a video appearing to show an attack on an important Alawi shrine in Aleppo. 

Armed men are seen in the footage entering the shrine, killing five people inside, vandalising the site and setting fire to it.

Though the video was circulated purporting to be recent, Sheikh Ammar Mohammed and Sheikh Ahmed Bilal, the shrine's custodians, issued a statement saying the incident happened weeks ago as HTS-led rebels were seizing Aleppo.

The sheikhs warned that the video was being used to "incite discord and undermine civil peace" and urged the perpetrators to be held to account.

Coordinated disinformation campaign

Assad, his family and many senior members of his government and security forces are Alawi, a community that make up around 10 percent of Syria's population. 

That association has prompted fears in the community that they will be targeted by Syria's new authorities, though HTS has insisted that all minorities must be respected and protected.

Verify Syria, a factchecking organisation, said the shrine video had been heavily promoted by accounts linked to Assad's government and his allies, seeking to sow discord.

"There is a connection between accounts linked to Russia, Iran, people who are pro-Hezbollah and the regime's electronic army, who all tweet together, who amplify each other's narratives," Verify Syria's Nora al-Jezawi told MEE.

Jezawi notes this has been a common tactic since the revolution began in 2011, but disinformation about the shrine has also been pushed by accounts linked to Egypt and Gulf states like the United Arab Emirates.

Since Assad fled Damascus on 8 December, several social media accounts sympathetic to the ousted president have changed their names but are still pumping out disinformation aimed at stoking sectarian fear. 

New ones have also sprung up, Jezawi said, some of which have shared old videos of crimes by groups like the Islamic State group (IS), claiming they are recent sectarian attacks.

"These tactics are old, but this is a new escalation because we have seen the disturbing impact it has had on the ground," she said.

This recent trend targeting Alawis comes as HTS is pursuing former officials and soldiers in the coastal Alawi heartlands of Latakia and Tartus. 

'Someone is trying to tear us apart'

Clashes between HTS and Assad loyalists in Tartus have left several dead on both sides and resulted in the capture of Mohammed Kanjo Hasan, a general reportedly responsible for atrocities in Sednaya prison.

According to Jezawi, in recent weeks there have been attempts to stoke Alawi unrest to provide cover for former officials to flee the country.

Meanwhile, a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday has outraged Syria's new authorities. He called on Syrian youths to "stand firm" against people who created "insecurity" in their country. 

Syria's new foreign minister responded by warning Tehran against "spreading chaos". 

'We want him [Ahmed al-Sharaa] to make us feel safe, to speak to us as Syrians'

- Alaa Mohammed, Mezzeh 86 resident

The interior ministry has also said it is forbidden to publish news or content "of a sectarian nature". 

Ali, an Alawi fitness coach in Mezzeh 86, said the community does not feel particularly safe now.

"We are Syrians like everyone else, but someone is trying to tear us apart," he told MEE. "We're afraid of people taking out vendettas with the former regime on us."

Contributing to these fears is the unexplained murder of three Alawi judges in the Hama countryside on Tuesday, which the government has condemned and said it is investigating.

Mezzeh 86 resident Alaa Mohammed said he wants reassurance directly from Ahmed al-Sharaa, the HTS leader and Syria's de facto leader, who was previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. 

"We want him to make us feel safe, to speak to us as Syrians," the electrician said.

Alawis were also victims

Alawis have shed a lot of blood for Assad. They have dominated the security forces since Syria was ruled by France.

Mohammed is a former soldier. Like many Alawis, he said he was constantly told that he had to fight for Assad because otherwise his community would be slaughtered.

But Alawis also joined the army in large numbers because they were poor. Mezzeh 86 is an impoverished working-class neighbourhood with a reputation for collapsing buildings.

Any benefits of Assad's power were only felt by his relatives and close allies, residents said ruefully. Meanwhile, barely a single family has not lost someone to Assad's battles with the rebels or IS.

"We want Sharaa to respect all Alawi martyrs because they died for Syria and Assad was responsible," Mohammed said.

Abu Ali, a Mezzeh 86 youth speaking under a pseudonym, said the war "ruined my childhood". 

"The majority of Alawis need a new country like everyone else in Syria," he said. "People need to understand they are victims, too."

"A lot of my friends were killed fighting for Assad. They didn't deserve to die for this kind of person."