When it became fairly certain that former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's regime was doomed in the first week of December, cars carrying hundreds of people clogged the main motorway from the centre of the country to the coast. They were fleeing Damascus, Homs and other cities to their home villages and towns in the Alawite mountains, and the plains on the sea below, inhabited by the sect.
The Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, had dominated power in Sunni majority Syria since a 1963 coup. Their rule ended when forces led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, removed the regime in December.
However, hundreds of Alawite civilians have been murdered in an HTS-led operation that the new government launched last week. It has been in response to what the authorities described as attacks by Assad regime remnants on security forces in Latakia and other areas on the coast.
The former regime had built outsize government and military compounds on the coast. Many thought they were designed to provide the Alawites with the underpinnings of an alternative state in case Syria broke up.
However, the bloodshed deep into the Alawite heartland, and the near absence of condemnation among Syria’s Sunni majority, has left the sect with little protection.
“God safeguards you,” Anas Ayrout, a prominent Sunni religious figure said as he greeted convoys of militiamen at the outskirts of his home city of Banias. They arrived last week to take part in the attack on districts in the city. Mr Ayrout described the operation as a “cleansing of Assad gangs”.
The Alawite heartland was so crucial to the survival of the former government that a threat of the area being swept by a rebel offensive sparked the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015.
The late president Hafez Al Assad, the father of Bashar, appeared to think that the area was so impenetrable that he instructed his family to bury him in his birthplace of Al Qardaha, in the Alawite mountains. Twenty-four years after his death, Sunni rebels reached Al Qardaha, and set Mr Al Assad’s grave on fire. The Alawite sect is seen by many Sunnis as having usurped the state.
HTS soon sent its forces into Alawite coastal area and in the central governorate of Homs, with the declared objective of neutralising regime forces. Dozens of Alawites have been killed in the campaign during January, often in their neighbourhoods and towns. Most the dead were militiamen or ex-members of the former regime security apparatus, it was claimed.
However, victims of the new offensive, which started last week after two members of the HTS-led security forces were killed in an Alawite district of Latakia, have been civilians.
Ahmad Aba Zeid, an independent Syrian researcher, said that the new authorities had no choice except to sweep into the coast, otherwise regime holdout forces would take more ground or become entrenched. He added that the campaign has lacked organisation, with foreign fighters and local militiamen fighting along HTS.
Regardless of who massacred the Alawite civilians, the HTS led authorities were supposed to protect them and “take responsibility” for the operations launched in the name of the new government, he said.
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- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
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Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
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Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
World Mental Health Day
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
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UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
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Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
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Tomorrow 2021
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