Popular condemnation in Qamishlo of Syrian coast massacres

Hundreds of residents from Qamishlo, Amuda, and Tirbespiye, including some Alawites residing in the Jazera Canton, participated in the mass march to denounce the massacres and violations committed against civilians in the Syrian coast. They called for peaceful coexistence and shared living in Syria.

The march began at Sony Roundabout, with the crowd holding up pictures of the student Shinda Adel Kishu, who lost her life after being hit by a stray bullet in the city of Latakia on March 7 during the clashes there.

The protesters marched toward the Martyrs’ Roundabout, chanting slogans such as "One, one, one, the Syrian people are one," "Long live the brotherhood of peoples and the democratic nation," and "No to sectarianism and exclusion." Upon reaching the square, they observed a minute of silence in honor of the martyrs’ souls.

During the event, a statement was read on behalf of the Qamishlo City Council, delivered in Kurdish by the council's co-chair Hivi Ahmed and in Arabic by the co-chair Ahmed Abousi.

The statement rejected sectarian incitement and hate speech, warning against escalation that could push Syria back to the brink of collapse. It called on the United Nations and civil society organizations to intervene urgently and open an international investigation into the massacres committed on the Syrian coast.

The statement also urged the Damascus authorities to adopt a democratic approach that guarantees the rights of all Syrians and respects Syria’s diversity, highlighting the Autonomous Administration’s experience as a model that embraces all components under the principle of citizenship and shared living.

At the conclusion of the march, Bashar Ragheb, an Alawite resident of the Jazera Canton, recited an emotional poem about the massacres that affected the predominantly Alawite population of the coast.

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ANHA