A prominent Alawite spiritual leader in Syria called on members of the minority group to boycott celebrations on Sunday marking the downfall of the Assad regime, in protest against the "oppressive" government that replaced it.
Former president Bashar Al Assad was toppled by rebels last December. Syrians were marking the anniversary of his fall across the country on Sunday, with a boat parade in Baniyas, a flag raised on top of the medieval Safita Tower in Tartus and a march in Homs, among other events. Larger celebrations are expected on Monday.
"The challenges ahead are considerable but we have strengthened the trust of the Syrian people, which is a valuable asset," Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said on Sunday.
Bashar Al Assad is a member of the Alawite sect, a group that has been the target of attacks in the past year. Hundreds were killed in its coastal heartland in March, in what was a major test of the new government, led by President Ahmad Al Shara.
"Under the slogan of freedom, they want to force the celebration of swapping an oppressive regime with an even more oppressive regime," Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, said in a video message posted on Facebook on Saturday.
Mr Ghazal was close to the former president and his late father, Hafez Al Assad. Mr Ghazal has fled Syria and his current location is unknown.
He accused the government of trying to "break us in the worst ways – carrying out arrests, killing, slaughtering, kidnapping, burning and now threatening our livelihoods ... they are forcing us to take part in celebrations built on our blood, our pain, our suffering ... and silencing us".
"We will confront their aggression with a clear, peaceful, collective response," he said. He called for a general strike and urged people to stay at home during the anniversary celebrations.
In March, at least 1,300 Alawite civilians were killed in violence during a government campaign to stop what it described as an insurgency by supporters of the former regime. Late last month, pro-government forces were sent into coastal areas after protests by residents after renewed clashes. Mr Ghazal called for the demonstrations.
Syria's state news agency Sana reported celebrations marking the anniversary.
In the year since taking power, the Syrian government has faced economic, political and social challenges. But the issue of minorities and mistrust remains a key hurdle for Mr Al Shara to confront.
Deadly violence also gripped the southern province of Sweida, the Druze heartland, while sporadic clashes have taken place in Kurdish-majority areas of northern and north-eastern Syria.
The Kurdish administration also announced a ban on public gatherings and events on Sunday and Monday due to "the current security situation and increased activity of terrorist cells". The Kurds have been seeking decentralisation – a move rejected by Damascus and US envoy Tom Barrack. While the Kurds agreed to integrate into state institutions and the armed forces by the end of the year, progress has stalled.
They have also been watching efforts for peace between Turkey and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Ankara has accused the Kurdish administration in Syria of being an offshoot of the group.
"The peace initiative in Turkey has had a direct impact on northern and eastern Syria," said Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in north-eastern Syria.
"We want a dialogue process with Turkey, a dialogue that we understand as Kurds in Syria. We want the borders between us to be opened," she added, speaking by video link to an Istanbul peace conference organised by Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, which has been mediating between Ankara and the PKK.
UN investigators said on Sunday that Syria's transition is fragile. An independent commission of inquiry that records human rights abuse said steps had been taken to address wrongdoing by the Assad regime, but that violence since then "raised worries about the future direction of the country".
"The cycles of vengeance and reprisal must be brought to an end, so that Syria can continue to move towards a future as a state that guarantees full respect for the human rights of all its people, with equality, the rule of law, peace and security for all in name and in deed," the commission said.
"Syria's transition is fragile. While many across the country will celebrate this anniversary, others are fearing for their present security and many will sleep in tents again this winter. The unknown fate of many thousands who were forcibly disappeared remains an open wound."
