Shafaq News – Latakia

Many of the demands raised during recent demonstrations in several Syrian provinces were legitimate, although some were “politicized,” Syrian transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa said on Thursday.

Speaking via video during a meeting in Latakia between the governor and neighborhood committees, Al-Sharaa stressed that Syria’s coastal region remains a priority, describing it as an area that overlooks “international trade routes” and will serve as a major economic link between Syria and countries across the region.

Al-Sharaa said the country’s sectarian diversity “enriches the state,” adding that even in federal systems “there is strong centralization in sovereign institutions.” He affirmed that the ministries of defense, security, foreign affairs, and the economy “are not divisible.”

Earlier, thousands of members of Syria’s Alawite community protested in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartous, as well as in Hama and Homs, following calls issued by several religious figures from within the community, with some demonstrators carrying banners demanding federalism, decentralization, and an end to killings.