Alwaght- While only three months have gone since fall of the government of Bashar al-Assad and seizure of power by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Syria, armed movements against the new rulers of Damascus are on the rise across the country.
After a military confrontation between the Druze minority and the HTS armed fighters, in recent days armed revolt have expanded to the coastal provinces, leading to deadly clashes and massive massacare of civilians especially the Alawites at the hand of the takfiri groups loyal to Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, officially named Ahmad al-Sharaa.
According to Arab media outlets, including Al-Mayadeen, security forces and militias affiliated with HTS are carrying out widespread raids and using heavy weapons on cities and villages in coastal areas, killing and ethnically cleansing the Alawites-led opposition.
While evidence indicates torture and high casualties of civilians, including women and children, in attacks by elements of new rule, the HTS officials attribute the deaths to the "remnants of the al-Assad regime" in order to cover up the new crimes of the takfiris.
But the eruption of the fighting by the HTS opponents in the coastal provinces and the iron fist shown by al-Jolani’s forces in the form of ethnic cleansing in the Alawite-majority regions once again highlighted the highly strategic significance of the costal regions of Syria.
With Syria’s Mediterranean coast stretching 180 kilometers along the sea, the western provinces are considered the lifeline connecting Syria to the outside world. This coast is of great economic and political importance, as it has important ports such as Latakia and Tartus, which play a pivotal role in the country’s regional and international trade.
Until the fall of al-Assad, the Syrian coast was the center of the presence of regional and international powers supporting it, such as Russia and Iran, and consequently provided the ground for geopolitical competition.
In terms of population, the Syrian coast has a diverse range of people, including Alawites, Sunnis, and Christians, which has led to the formation of an intertwined social and economic fabric. Although this region did not suffer as much devastation during the years of civil war as other regions, it was not completely immune to the negative economic and political effects and consequences of the war, as it was deeply affected by the influx of refugees, military interventions, and economic sanctions.
Geographically, the Syrian coast stretches for 180 km from Tartus Governorate in the south to Ras al-Basit in the north, forming the western coastline of Syria in the governorates of Latakia and Tartus.
The coast has a strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea and includes the major cities of Latakia and Tartus, as well as ports in Jableh h and Banias. It borders Turkey to the north, Lebanon to the south, and the governorates of Homs and Hama to the east, and extends from north to south through a narrow plain.
Economically, the Syrian coast has always been the main artery of the country's economy and the reason for the prosperity of its maritime trade. The Port of Latakia is the largest commercial port in Syria on the Mediterranean Sea, followed by the Port of Tartus as the second largest port in the country.
The Port of Latakia is dedicated to extensive commercial activities, including the export of agricultural products (especially citrus fruits), raw materials and oil, and is considered the main center for container handling and maritime trade in Syria.
The Port of Tartus is also known for its role in the export of grains and general goods and the import of the country's needs, and until the war, it was an important terminal for wheat and other strategic material storage and transportation.
In addition to ports, the western coast of Syria also has important industrial areas, the most prominent of which is the Banias oil refinery, which has a capacity of between 90,000 and 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, supplying oil derivatives to the coast and western regions.
There are also power stations associated with the refinery, industrial complexes such as the fertilizer factories in Jableh, and numerous tourist sites along the coastline, which were a tourist destination and a source of income for the country before the civil war of 2011.
These coasts play an important economic role due to their fertile soil and mild climate, which are ideal for the extensive cultivation of citrus fruits, olives, and vegetables. Latakia is the capital of Syria's citrus fruits and a traditional center for exporting them to foreign markets through this port. During the war, despite the economic damage to other cities, commercial and economic activities continued as normal due to the all-out defense of the port by the army under al-Assad and the presence of Syrian allies such as Iran and Russia.
However, the coasts were not totally safe to the damage of the war. After the collapse of the economy due to the war, due to security threats and the closure of many international shipping lines, traffic in the port of Latakia dropped and the coastal tourism sector faced stagnation. However, the role of coastal ports as essential gateways for Syrian imports was strengthened during the war, given the disruption of land crossings with Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey.
Demographically speaking, the two coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus are the second most densely populated after Damascus, with the most important sources of income coming from employment opportunities in agriculture, fishing, trade and tourism.
The Syrian coast is home to a diverse population, with the majority being Alawite Arabs, whose villages are scattered in the mountains of Latakia and Tartus. There is also a significant Sunni population in these cities. Christians, especially Greek Orthodox and Catholics, also live in some of its towns. Pre-war estimates suggest that Tartus governorate has an Alawite majority (around 80 percent), while Latakia has a more diverse population, with Alawites making up almost half of its population, with the rest being Sunnis and Christians.
Politically, coastal cities have played a significant role in security throughout Syria's history, especially during the war. Despite the outbreak of war, the coastal region in northwestern Syria largely survived the widespread destruction and violence that occurred elsewhere. According to a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the war isolated the coast and many Alawite communities from the rest of the region, but in return allowed coastal residents to develop local governance in the region.
That is why coastal cities later became safe havens for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war. This further strengthened the strategic importance of the coast for the al-Assad government, to the extent that coastal areas became an important logistical and military center for the previous government and military units were transferred to these areas.
Another measure taken by al-Assad government regarding the country’s coast during the war was protection of the coastal corridors such as the routes leading to the cities of Hama and Homs.
The government of al-Assad worked hard to save its bases from the risk of blockade by tightly securing them. Perhaps the most obvious indication of the strategic importance of the coast was that al-Assad government received military assistance from its international allies, such as Russia, to protect military infrastructure and coastal fortifications in 2015 to prevent Foreign-backed terrorists from reaching the outskirts of Latakia. Later, the Russians expanded their presence in Syria unprecedentedly, especially in the coastal areas.
In 2015, Russia began operating Humaimim airbase, formerly Bassel al-Assad Airport, in southeast Latakia, making it the command center of its military operations against terrorists fighting al-Assad government. Tartus and Humaimim are the most important military bases of Russia in Syria.
