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Source: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-from/syrias-alawite-refuge
Syria's Alawite Refuge
(Foreign Affairs) Katie Paul - The Syrian port city of Tartus has become a refuge for the country's minority Alawi Shiite population. In their view, Alawites are under attack by a Sunni majority, which uses its religious identity to mobilize the militias operating under the Free Syrian Army umbrella. In turn, the coastal Sahel region is the only safe haven, and this stretch of land - encompassing the port cities of Latakia, Baniyas, Jableh, and Tartus, and the mountains separating them from the rest of Syria's plains - must be protected against Sunni encroachment at all costs. Alawites are increasingly setting up shop in the Sahel, looking to cordon themselves off from the chaos that they believe will come as Assad's grip on the country weakens.