At Least 30 Killed as Syria Protests Turn Into Sectarian Clashes

Assad Supporters Killed and Mutilated in Homs

The protest movement in Syria over the past five months has largely been thought of in terms of government versus demonstrators, with regime forces killing well over 1,000 pro-democracy protesters and the only backlash being the occasional attack on security forces.

The situation took on a whole new demonstration of sectarianism over the weekend, however, with at least 30 people slain, including Assad advocates in Homs who were found killed and mutilated.

The reports surrounding the Homs bodies, who were Shi’ite, sparked retaliatory attacks on both sides throughout the weekend, with bodies from assorted religious sects being dumped across the city.

The pro-democracy protests in Syria have, as in Bahrain, always had a religious slant to them, with the large majority of the population (in Syria’s case Sunnis) feeling disenfranchised by a ruling elite from a separate sect which has kept them carefully out of key positions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.