French academic Fabrice Balanche: Syria's Islamist leader wants to make example of Alawites

The wave of sectarian violence that gripped Syria last week has marred the image of the country's new Islamist president, Ahmad al-Sharaa. Could the government have done more to prevent it? French academic Fabrice Balanche says it absolutely could have. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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AL-Monitor Senior Correspondent Amberin Zaman interviews newsmakers, journalists, and thought leaders from the US and Middle East about the latest news and trends in the region. Amberin travels the region for AL-Monitor, specializing in news and analysis in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and the Caucasus and writes the weekly Turkey Briefing newsletter. Prior to AL-Monitor, she covered Turkey, the Kurds, and conflicts in the region for The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Los Angeles Times and the Voice of America, and was The Economist's Turkey correspondent from 1999 to 2016.