Thousands queue to flee Syria as ethnic minorities fear post-Assad future

While it seems as if HTS has been saying the right things in terms of treatment of minorities time will tell if they actually mean it or if they are just saying the right things for now. Their history certainly doesn't do them any favors in this situation.

Also, I thought this was interesting.

The Alawite community - from which the Assad family originates - are the largest Muslim minority group in Syria, making up roughly 10 per cent of the population and situated largely in Syria’s coastal provinces. The Assad family has long relied on the Alawites, who have filled many senior positions in the regime, since they came to power in 1970.

Many reports suggested that they were disproportionately targeted for conscription by the Assad regime in earlier years of the war, with conflicting estimates all agreeing that at least tens of thousands of Alawites have been killed in the conflict.

While taking up a disproportionate number of positions in key regime positions, Alawite communities are also some of the poorest in Syria. One Alawi dentist told The Times that it was comparable to an “army of slaves”, with many living in the belief that “if we leave him [Assad], we will die”.

I had no idea the disparity was that big for Alawites. I had always assumed the because of Assad they were more privileged as a whole.