Syria on the brink of sectarian collapse - Hassan Remo
Syria is currently facing one of the most perilous phases in its modern history, following over a decade of devastating conflict. A dangerous escalation in sectarian and ethnic tensions—most recently illustrated by the violent events in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside—has revived haunting images from the early years of the war. These developments raise grave questions about the country's future and the ability of the Damascus-based authorities to contain the rapidly worsening societal fragmentation.
Druze Communities Under Fire in Damascus Countryside: A Silent Massacre
The recent unrest in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya began with the circulation of a provocative audio recording, which quickly ignited deadly clashes. These confrontations resulted in the deaths of 47 individuals, including civilians, local Druze militiamen, and fighters affiliated with auxiliary forces under the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
The violence went beyond conventional clashes, culminating in the summary execution of Druze civilians at a poultry farm—a crime amounting to a war atrocity. These executions were allegedly carried out by militias that operate openly under the umbrella of the Ministries of Defense and Interior. Even if direct orders were not issued by central authorities, the Damascus government bears political, legal, and moral responsibility for these actions.
Tragedy continued to unfold along the Damascus–Suwayda highway, where a convoy of young Druze men en route to support their embattled community came under ambush. Gunfire claimed the lives of six and wounded several others. Furthermore, Druze villages in Suwayda were subjected to shelling with mortars and heavy machine guns, intensifying public outrage and deepening communal tensions.
Alawite Victims and the Silence of the State: The Unanswered March 6 Massacres
Compounding the crisis is the conspicuous silence surrounding the massacre that occurred on Syria’s coast between March 6 and 9. According to documented testimonies, over 1,500 Alawite civilians were killed. Despite the scale of this atrocity, no official investigation has been announced, nor have any perpetrators been held accountable. The massacre has been shrouded in a near-total media blackout, as if the victims were deemed second-class citizens.
This official indifference toward such a large-scale sectarian crime reveals the fragility of the regime’s capacity to manage communal conflict. It also invites deeply troubling interpretations—namely, that certain actors may be intentionally allowing these crises to fester in order to justify increased securitization or to shape new realities on the ground.
Can the Damascus Government Be Exonerated?
Perhaps most alarming is the fact that several groups involved in the atrocities in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya have acknowledged their ties to the Ministries of Defense and Interior, with some effectively operating as extensions of these institutions.
Given this direct connection, can the Damascus authorities reasonably claim non-responsibility? Can one speak of a "sovereign state" if it is unable—or unwilling—to control armed actors embedded within its own official structures, actors who carry out extrajudicial executions and sectarian ambushes without legal oversight?
The reality is stark: what exists in Damascus today is no longer a state in the full institutional sense of the word, governed by law and accountability. Rather, it is a de facto authority dominated by overlapping security networks and military factions, each pursuing its own agenda and guarding its own interests.
The Greatest Threat to Syria: Sectarianism
After more than 14 years of destructive warfare, Syria can no longer withstand further social fragmentation. Its social fabric—already strained by painful episodes in Homs, Aleppo, Ghouta, Daraa, and Idlib—is now unraveling in Damascus and along the coastal regions.
Sectarian Incitement as a Weapon—and the Urgent Need for a New Syrian Future
Sectarian incitement has become a prevalent and dangerous tool, readily deployed to ignite conflict in an instant, while authorities turn a blind eye—even as such hate speech circulates openly on social media. Calls to slaughter Kurds, Alawites, and Druze are being broadcast without consequence, even by armed actors who have formally declared their dissolution and integration into the Ministry of Defense.
Is this the Syria we are meant to accept? A state where citizens are massacred solely on the basis of their sectarian identity, buried without justice, and where perpetrators are left free to repeat their crimes elsewhere?
What is the solution? Can Syria escape this accelerating collapse?
In light of the rising tide of sectarian violence and the widening chasm between social components, the need for fundamental, transformative solutions is more urgent than ever. A secure and stable future is impossible without addressing the root causes of the crisis, rather than simply managing its symptoms through security and military measures.
1. A New Social Contract Representing All Syrians
The constitutional declaration issued by the Damascus authorities in March amounts to little more than a reproduction of the traditional authoritarian order—one that centralizes power in the hands of a narrow elite while marginalizing the demands of broad segments of Syrian society. Without a profound restructuring of the state and a rebalancing of political power, any discourse on reconciliation or stability remains a mere illusion.
2. A Transition to a Democratic Decentralized System
The experience of recent years has shown that the centralized nation-state has failed to manage Syria’s rich diversity; in fact, it has often deepened existing divides. A decentralized model is essential—one that empowers all communities, whether ethnic, religious, or sectarian, to participate meaningfully in governance. This must be built on inclusivity, not exclusion or dominance.
3. Immediate End to Sectarian Incitement and Accountability for Inciters
No social peace can take root while hate speech proliferates across media platforms and public discourse. It is imperative to enforce strict legal measures against anyone inciting sectarian violence, and to ensure that accountability is carried out through an independent judiciary—not dictated by sectarian bargaining or personal vendettas. War can only be halted by breaking the cycle of mutual hatred; resentment begets only more resentment.
4. Transitional Justice as an Indispensable Foundation
True reconciliation begins with acknowledgment of violations and the prosecution of perpetrators through fair, impartial judicial institutions. This must not be reduced to revenge or collective punishment. Any attempt to build a new Syria without justice is bound to sow the seeds of future violence.
5. Ending Foreign Interference
Regional interventions have become part of the problem rather than the solution. They continue to undermine Syrian sovereignty and transform local conflicts into proxy wars. Without a national consensus rejecting all forms of foreign interference—first and foremost Turkish intervention—there can be no credible or independent national project.
Towards a New Syria: A Vision for the Future
The road to a safe, stable, and democratic Syria is not paved—but it is not impossible. This path begins with the deep recognition that what the country is suffering from is not merely a political or security crisis, but a crisis of national identity and a system of governance that has failed to manage diversity, deliver justice, and ensure equal belonging for all citizens. The new Syria will not be built on the ruins of sectarianism, nor on the continuation of centralization and domination, but on the values of citizenship, pluralism, decentralization, and accountability.
This requires political and moral courage—not only from the dominant party but from all national forces—to sit at a genuine dialogue table that places the interests of Syrians above all else, and that produces a new constitution that represents everyone, excludes no one, and does not reproduce the past.
Only through peace, justice, and participation can Syria rise from the ashes of war and reclaim its dignity, sovereignty, and identity as a civil, democratic state that embraces all its sons and daughters, regardless of their ethnicities, religions, or sects.
In conclusion: Syria today stands at a dangerous crossroads. Either it moves toward complete fragmentation and open civil conflicts based on sectarian and ethnic divisions—from which no group or region will be spared—or it opens a courageous national dialogue, starting with acknowledgment of the crimes, passing through the dismantling of the security state, and culminating in a new social contract that leads to a decentralized democratic Syria that preserves the rights of all and protects the unity of its land and people.
a.k
ANHA
