alawite

Eventually, that Alawite contingent in the military led a coup that led to the Alawite minority ruling over the Sunni majority for decades until the civil war.

Assad’s troops had abandoned most of Eastern Syria to focus on defending the Alawite heartland along the coast.

He also mentioned that al-Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority, despite their support for the Assad regime.

Keeping a minority Alawite government in power is just going to keep leading to these Sunni uprisings.

The US has no qualms supporting potential coups but Sunni's rising up against an Alawite leader isn't surprising either.

During the Assad dynasty Alawite minority (population 2-3 million) was the ruling ethnic class in Syria.

When the French took over, they favored the Alawites and created a separate Alawite state.

Most druze and alawite are not too happy and fearing, mainly because of the feare built into them throughtout the war years.

In Syria, the Alawite minority has gained power during the Assad dynasty and is taking it out on the majority for past oppression.

My alawite and druz relatives from Tartus and Latakia are almost distraught.

And that Assad is from the Alawite minority, who is also Shia?

Syria, for example, is ruled by an Alawite minority.

These uprisings "keep" happening because the Saudis and the usa provide funds to these rebel groups to oust the Shiite (alawite) regime.

And finally, the sample you see here ARE sort of the "elite" that aprilthird2021 mentioned -- my people are Christian doctors, and farkanoid's Alawite relatives I'm guessing are more well off than the median.

It's wild to me, as a westerner, that on the leaderboard of "most salient military conflicts in the Middle East", Israel/Palestine ranks at best #3, behind the Saudi/Persian rivalry (which claimed hundreds of thousands of noncombatant lives in Yemen) and the Sunni/Alawite conflict in Syria (which claimed hundreds of thousands of noncombatant lives in Syria).

- "He also mentioned that al-Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority, despite their support for the Assad regime" In the past, al-Julani (or al-Golani) has explicitly demanded Alawites convert to Sunni Islam, - "But any Allawite considering taking advantage of Golami’s kind offer must meet certain conditions.

If I don't like the Syrian regime, it doesn't mean I'm anti-Arab or anti-Alawite.

For example we have Sunni/Shia, Sunni/Druz, Sunni/Christian and most recently Sunni/Alawite in our extended family, all from Tartus.

Those who align with Iran are virtually all part of the Shia/Alawite religious minority.