Funeral rites become part of protests in Syrian city

SECTARIAN tensions, regime crackdowns and armed militias have turned the besieged Syrian city of Homs into a “disaster zone,” opposition figures have told The Scotsman from the city which has become the frontline of the uprising against president Bashar Assad.

Civilian demonstrations remain deadly, with regime forces firing on protesters, and frequent outbreaks of violence.

Activists from the city who spoke to The Scotsman have asked for their identities to remain secret for fear of reprisals.

“Before going to demonstrate, protesters wash their bodies in the ritual usually reserved for preparing a corpse for the funeral ceremony. They leave their IDs and all their possessions behind, and kiss their families goodbye,” said one.

Anger and bitterness built up over eight months of killings in Homs has led to acts of sectarian violence, said activists.

The situation in Homs is “crazy”, with “people killing according to your identity card”, reported an activist working with the grassroots group Avaaz who has family inside the city.

“It is a war zone now, there is no doubt,” said a mother who fled the town earlier this week.

Too frightened to take her four-year-old daughter outside of her home in the town centre, she tested the route alone before bringing her with relatives.

“There are tanks on my street. I can hear gunfire everywhere, it is just not safe to go outside.”

Opposition groups blame the regime for inflaming underlying social tensions between majority Sunnis and the Alawite Shia Muslim minority to which the Assad clan belong.

Many of the Shabeha – armed regime thugs who are reported to spy on, kidnap or kill protesters – come from Alawite areas of the city.

“In Homs, it is sectarian,” said an analyst from the city. “When you have your cousin, or your brother killed by the death squads and they were recruited in the area, you know who they are, you can target them directly.

“You kill their cousin or whoever. It’s vendetta, it’s revenge, and as they are Alawite it comes with sectarian elements.” This started to spiral out of control earlier this month, opposition people say, when a female relative of the leader of the Syrian National Council was captured.

“Sunni protesters said they would burn Homs if the girl wasn’t released,” said an activist working for Avaaz.

The girl and Alawites who were kidnapped in retaliation were released.

After a second incident in a factory on the outskirts of Homs where 11 Sunni protesters were found dead with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet wounds to their heads, doctors reported 127 wounded Alawites were admitted to hospitals within 24 hours, an activist said.

However, opposition figures, including people inside Homs, are keen not to overplay sectarian elements.

“This is between the regime and the protesters,” said one medic.

They say sectarian violence is only part of tensions inside the city, and are all too aware of its dangers. Religious leaders and known social figures are helping to calm the situation.

“One, one, the Syrian people are one,” called Alawite actress Fadwa Sulaiman, walking through Sunni streets with a considerable Alawite following.

Residents also reported suffering critical shortages of fuel, and a reduction in food supplies.

“The weather is bitterly cold and only set to worsen. In a few weeks I don’t know what we will do,” said a medical worker in Homs.