(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian activists said displaced people living in coastal city of Jableh have been suffering sectarian abuses since at least 27 people were killed in a car blast on Thursday.
Residents of the Alawite-sect-dominated city have accused the displaced, who fled conflict areas to the Bashar al-Assad's heartland province of Latakia, of being involved in the bombing attack.
The state of anger reflected in demands to expel the displaced out of coastal area, such a sectarian demand was welcomed by pro-regime social media.
Regime-run media said Thursday that scores of cars were on fire and shops were also damaged by the blast in a bustling commercial district of of Jableh.
At least 150 people were killed and 200 wounded in May when bombs hit the town and the port city of Tartous on the Mediterranean coast where Russian military bases are located.
Latakia province hosts Moscow's naval base in Tartous port while Hmeymim air base is Russia's main launching ground for an intensive bombing campaign against rebel-held territory.
Islamic State claimed the May attacks in a statement posted online saying its fighters had targeted "gatherings of Alawites" deploying suicide bombers to inflict the heaviest losses. Hardline Sunni militants consider Alawites heretics.
Latakia city, which is north of Jableh and capital of the province, has been targeted on a number of occasions by bombings and insurgent rocket attacks.
But these government-held coastal cities have been largely spared the widescale violence seen elsewhere in the war-torn country. (With agencies)
Residents of the Alawite-sect-dominated city have accused the displaced, who fled conflict areas to the Bashar al-Assad's heartland province of Latakia, of being involved in the bombing attack.
The state of anger reflected in demands to expel the displaced out of coastal area, such a sectarian demand was welcomed by pro-regime social media.
Regime-run media said Thursday that scores of cars were on fire and shops were also damaged by the blast in a bustling commercial district of of Jableh.
At least 150 people were killed and 200 wounded in May when bombs hit the town and the port city of Tartous on the Mediterranean coast where Russian military bases are located.
Latakia province hosts Moscow's naval base in Tartous port while Hmeymim air base is Russia's main launching ground for an intensive bombing campaign against rebel-held territory.
Islamic State claimed the May attacks in a statement posted online saying its fighters had targeted "gatherings of Alawites" deploying suicide bombers to inflict the heaviest losses. Hardline Sunni militants consider Alawites heretics.
Latakia city, which is north of Jableh and capital of the province, has been targeted on a number of occasions by bombings and insurgent rocket attacks.
But these government-held coastal cities have been largely spared the widescale violence seen elsewhere in the war-torn country. (With agencies)
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