Three dead in Alawite protests on Syrian coast, local officials say

Three people were killed today when protests in Syria’s Alawite heartland of Latakia spiraled into gunfire and other violence, according to the province’s media office.

Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian bloodshed since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the Muslim Alawite minority, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni-led government.

Thousands of Alawite protesters gathered today in Azhari Square in Latakia city to demand a decentralized political system in Syria and the release of thousands of Alawite prisoners.

About two hours into the protest, gunshots rang out from an unidentified location, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. Security forces then fired in the air and the protest descended into chaos, with demonstrators carrying wounded people away on foot.

A written statement from the Latakia province’s media office that was distributed to reporters says three people were killed and more than 40 people wounded. It does not specify if the casualties were all in Azhari Square or in other towns where protests were also taking place.

Syrian state news agency SANA reports that one member of the security forces was killed by gunfire from “armed remnants of the former regime” in Latakia. It says civilians and security personnel were wounded in gunfire by unknown assailants near Azhari Square.

A similar protest in November lasted barely an hour before being confronted by a rival protest in support of Syria’s new government. Syrian security forces used gunfire to break up both.

Last week, eight people were killed when a bomb detonated at an Alawite mosque in the nearby city of Homs.