Syria 1st-Hand: Among the Alawites (Rosen)

A pro-Assad rally in Ras al-Ayn

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It was April, my sixth month travelling through Syria. After I left I heard of another funeral not far away, in the village of Ras al-Ayn, near the coast. A village of seven thousand people now had seven martyrs from the security forces, six missing or captured and many wounded. "Every day we have martyrs," an officer said. "It’s all a sacrifice for the nation." Another talked about "their" crimes, and said ‘they’ had killed the soldier because he was an Alawite. One of my guides berated him for speaking of the conflict in sectarian terms in front of me. "The opposition have left us no choice," another soldier said. "They accept nothing but killing."

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