Part 5/14:
Minorities such as Alawites, Christians, and Kurds found themselves caught in the crossfire of these ideological struggles. The Alawite minority, historically marginalized under Sunni rule, became the backbone of Syria's Ba'athist regime, with Hafez al-Assad consolidating power in 1970. The Assad family’s rule is characterized by a minority minority elite maintaining brutal control, often relying on sectarian favoritism—Alawites in the military and security services—and ruthless suppression of Sunni dissent.