Shia and Other Minorities Flee Syria to Lebanon Fearing Islamist Rule

A senior security official in Lebanon told Reuters that since the fall of Bashar al-Assad to Sunni Islamists, despite assurances from the new rulers in Damascus about safety, tens of thousands of Syrians, mostly Shia, have fled to Lebanon due to fears of persecution. On Thursday, December 22, at the Syrian-Lebanese border, where thousands were trying to leave Syria, twelve Shia Muslims spoke to Reuters about personal threats, mainly on social media. Their reports indicate fear of harassment and torture despite promises of support from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, the Sunni Islamist group that has emerged as the dominant force in Syria but is not the only armed faction in the field. Shia communities have often been at the forefront of the 13-year civil war in Syria; a war that took on sectarian dimensions as Assad, who is himself an Alawite Shia, mobilized regional Shia allies, including Hezbollah, to help fight Sunni rebels. The Lebanese official stated that over one hundred thousand people, mostly followers of minority sects, have entered Lebanon since Sunday, but due to the intensity of illegal entries, it is impossible to determine their exact number. Samira Baba at the main border crossing between Syria and Lebanon said she had been waiting for three days to enter Lebanon with her children. She said, 'We don’t know who is sending these threats on WhatsApp and Facebook... the rebels have not openly threatened us, so it could be other factions or individuals... we know it is time to leave here.' The new situation in Syria is uncertain for many, especially minorities. It is estimated that Shia make up about one-tenth of the country's population, which was 23 million before the war began. While Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has severed its ties with the global jihadist network al-Qaeda and is the most powerful group among those that fought Assad, there are many other armed groups, many of which are Islamist. Iham Hamadeh, a 39-year-old Shia who served in the army at the time of Assad's fall, said the regime's collapse was so sudden that he and his soldier brother wondered whether they should stay or go. He said, 'We fear sectarian slaughter... this is the end of the line.' Hamadeh stated that despite assurances from Ahmad al-Shara, the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, minorities have been left unprotected after Assad's sudden flight. He said, 'Bashar took his money and fled, ignoring us.' Many of the Shia at the border were from Sayyida Zainab, a neighborhood in Damascus that is home to a Shia shrine and the base for Hezbollah fighters and other Shia militants. Shia militants, supported by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, came from Iraq and Afghanistan and recruited a number of Syrian Shia. Elham, a 30-year-old Shia nurse from Damascus, said she had been waiting for days without food or water at the crossing with her ten-day-old niece and two-year-old son. She said she fled to rural areas after the regime's fall but when she returned, she found her house looted and burned. She and others said masked armed men stormed their homes and threatened them with weapons, saying they would be killed if they did not leave. She said, 'They took our car because they said it belonged to them. No one dared to say anything. We left everything and fled.' Reuters could not immediately reach officials from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham for comment on the threats received by minorities. However, in parts of northern Syria, some residents who fled after Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham's attack in early December told Reuters they now feel confident about returning. Hussein al-Saman, a 48-year-old Shia father of three, near the main mosque in the Shia city of Nobel, where Hezbollah was once stationed, told Reuters, 'My wife is Sunni. We are all one nation.' He praised the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham for his efforts to protect the community, saying, 'He made it possible for us to return to our homes.' He added, 'We were a minority and had no choice but to stand by (Assad). But now that the war is over, we are free... I hope my children live comfortably in the new government.' Bassam Abdulwahab, an official overseeing the return, said essential services have been restored. He stated that 'security has been provided to protect minorities,' adding that this is a 'command approach.' He said, 'We are responsible for protecting minorities in Syria. What happens to us will happen to them too.' At the entrance to Nobel, a statue of Assad had been toppled. Inside the city, residents were cleaning shops and repairing damaged buildings, while military officials coordinated the return of fleeing residents. Mohi al-Din, a miner, told Reuters, 'The Assad regime forced minorities here to live in conditions where their neighbors were enemies. The regime played a game to create division between us and our Sunni brothers.' While some in Nobel spoke hopefully about the future, a 41-year-old man who identified himself as a 'supporter' spoke more cautiously in front of the camera. He said, 'We are Shia and the new leadership is Sunni; we don’t know what will happen.'