Iraqi university academic fired for expressing support for killings of Alawites in Syria

Lecturer at state-run Islamic Sciences College dismissed over comments on Facebook

Burnt vehicles in Jableh after sectarian violence in Syria's coastal region. Reuters

Iraq's Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry has dismissed a Sunni academic for inciting sectarian strife after he posted comments online in support of the recent mass killings of Alawites in Syria.

Hundreds of Alawites including civilians were killed this month after supporters of deposed Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad attacked security forces of the new government led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a group once linked to Al Qaeda. The attacks in Syria's coastal region sparked reprisals by HTS-linked security forces and allied groups against the Alawite community, to which Mr Al Assad belongs.

The killings have had significant repercussions within Iraq, including an increase in sectarian tensions and a heightened sense of unease towards the new rulers in Damascus, mainly among Shiites. The online comments by the sacked academic, Omar Dhia Abbas, a lecturer at the state-run Islamic Sciences College, were widely circulated on social media.

Replying to a post on Facebook which condemned the killings and demanded protection for Alawites, Mr Abbas wrote: “Your screams are music. We have not forgotten 50 years of crimes [under Assad rule], and the time for revenge has come.” He also accused Alawites, who held top positions in the government and security forces under Mr Al Assad, of being used by the former president to oppress Sunnis in Syria.

Mr Abbas confessed and confirmed his comments during an investigation ordered by Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research Naim Al Aboudi, ministry spokesman Haider Al Aboudi told The National on Tuesday. According to the order for his dismissal issued on Monday and signed by the minister, the academic's response “violates the duties of his position which include maintaining the dignity of the public service and avoiding anything that could undermine the respect to it”.

He engaged in topics that “provoke sectarian sensitivities and ignite strife, making his service to the state detrimental to the public interest,” it says.

While Iraq's Shiite-led government has officially welcomed the change of regime in Syria, it is thought to view the new rulers with suspicion. It has called for an inclusive political process in Syria, expressed concern over the danger posed by a resurgent ISIS and demanded protection for religious and ethnic minorities and Shiite shrines.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said he raised the killings of Alawites in their coastal heartland in his meeting with Syria's new Foreign Minister, Asaad Al Shibani, during his first visit to Baghdad on Friday. Shiite politicians and militias decried the visit and called on Baghdad not to normalise relations with Damascus.

“What happened on the coast is unacceptable,” Mr Hussein said in an interview with state-run TV aired late on Monday. “Killing Alawites just because they are Alawites is unacceptable; even if there is a criminal you have to take him to the court, not kill him.”

Iraqi Shiites, mainly pro-Iran political factions and the Iran-backed militias who fought alongside Mr Al Assad's forces during Syria's 13-year civil war, have grown especially wary of the Syrian leadership after the recent killings, which drew international condemnation and calls for the new government to protect the country's minorities.

Last week, a previously unknown Shiite militia started attacking Syrians in Iraq for allegedly supporting the killings of Alawites. The group, which calls itself Ya Ali Popular Formations, said it had been following the activities of Syrians on social media who were “praising” the rule of new President Ahmad Al Shara and the security forces' campaign in the coastal area.

In one recent incident in Iraq, three black-clad masked men were filmed breaking into a bakery, slapping one of its two workers and searching their phones. One of the men was carrying a pistol. A statement issued by Ya Ali called on the Iraqi government to act against Syrians supporting Mr Al Shara.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled to Iraq during the civil war. Most live in camps in the autonomous Kurdish region, although some have entered other parts of the country to work illegally.