The human rights group said the Alawites have been the leading
supporters of the Assad regime amid the revolt in Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. Syrian Observatory
said Alawites were being abducted and killed in Homs, presumably by Sunni
rebels.
"These clashes are a dangerous development that undermines the
revolution and serves the interests of its enemies who want to turn it into
a civil war," Syrian Observatory director Rami Abdul Rahman said.
This marked the first report of Muslim attacks on Alawite civilians in
Syria. The Assad regime has been employing the Alawite-aligned Shabiha
militia to conduct what human rights groups said marked the worst abuses
against protesters.
More than 1,600 civilians have been killed and 12,000 arrested since
March. Damascus said at least 500 soldiers and police have been killed
in Islamic attacks.
Shabiha and security forces have been targeting Homs in mid-July. A
civilian opposition group said 10 people were killed in Homs by security
forces on July 18.
"Security forces and Shabiha are rampaging in streets and firing
randomly," the Local Coordination Committees activist group said. "Whole
neighborhoods are under siege."