成人快手

How safe should Syria's minority Alawite population feel under the country's new Islamist administration? The Alawites - who follow a heterodox version of Shia Islam - were closely identified with President Assad, himself an Alawite. But Syria's new de facto ruler, Ahmed Al Sharaa, has publicly reached out to Syria's minorities such as Christians and Druze, and reassured visiting western politicians that the rights of minorities will be protected. What then should we make of the experience of the Alawite population in Homs who currently feel threatened as a result of a security operation by members of HTS, the Salafi group who led the overthrow of Assad. Newshour's Julian Marshall spoke to a young Alawite woman in a neighbourhood of Homs which has been targeted by Islamic militants.

(Photo: Fighters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) hold a man during what they said was security checks to find 'remnants' of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, in Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood in Homs, Syria on 2 January 2025. Credit: Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)