Friday, December 21, 2012

Will The Syrian Civil War Result In An Independent Alawite State?

Could An Alawite State In Syria Prevent Post-Assad Reprisals? -- Voice of America

WASHINGTON, DC — A new report by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights offers disturbing evidence that the civil war in Syria is turning into a sectarian battle between the country’s majority Sunni and minority Alawite Muslim communities. At the same time, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has expressed concern that Syria could plummet into a continued cycle of violence and retaliation.

These dire assessments come amid growing rumors in Syria that President Bashar Al- Assad may be fortifying an Alawite enclave in the mountains that could form the foundation for a breakaway Alawite State. But how credible are these reports and could such a state or enclave be a solution to Alawite fears of massive post-Assad reprisals?

Read more ....

My Comment: There is a precedent to this possibility and it happened next door in Lebanon. After years of conflict and tens of thousands of deaths the Lebanese civil war produced sectarian enclaves that exist today. Can this happen in Syria today? I have my doubts but it did happen in Lebanon .... and sectarian enclaves are also now becoming the norm in today's Iraq.

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