A Reuters investigation has uncovered that wealthy allies of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are systematically financing armed groups to incite rebellion against the interim government. Major-General Kamal Hassan, former military intelligence chief, and billionaire Rami Makhlouf are reportedly competing to establish militia networks among Syria’s Alawi minority, with both factions collectively bankrolling over 50,000 fighters to secure their allegiance.
Despite Assad’s apparent disinterest in reclaiming power from his Moscow exile, according to four sources close to the former ruling family, his former associates are actively working to undermine President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration. Their objectives include seizing control of 14 underground command centers and weapons caches constructed along Syria’s coastal region during Assad’s final years in power.
The report details how General Hassan regularly communicates with field commanders, expressing frustration over his diminished influence and ambitions to retake Latakia—the Alawi-majority homeland of the Assad family. This power struggle has exacerbated sectarian tensions, resulting in significant violence across regions including Latakia and Sweida, where clashes between Alawi and Druze communities have claimed numerous lives.
Following Assad’s overthrow in December 2024, loyalist attacks in Latakia triggered violent retaliations against Alawis, with at least 1,500 fatalities documented—many allegedly traceable to officials in Damascus. The interim government faces skepticism from minority groups wary of President Sharaa’s past association with al-Nusra Front, though he has publicly renounced its extremist ideology.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani recently addressed these concerns at London’s Chatham House, emphasizing the government’s commitment to establishing a pluralistic, election-based state after 13 years of conflict. ‘We aspire that the Syrian state is one that Syrians believe in,’ Shaibani stated, asserting that Syria possesses no inherent sectarian problem despite its complex demographic landscape.