The killing of a Bedouin couple just south of Syria’s third largest city Homs threatened to spark another round of sectarian clashes in the country this week.The couple, found dead on Sunday, were from the prominent Sunni Bani Khaled tribe. On the walls next to their bodies, their apparent murderers had scrawled sectarian slogans.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listHoms, a city known for its diverse religious makeup, was on edge. Tribal members mobilised and reportedly began shooting at homes in Alawite-majority neighbourhoods. And on Tuesday, large protests called for by an Alawite religious leader took place in the religious minority’s traditional heartlands in Latakia and Tartous.But, so far, Syria has avoided another outbreak of sectarian violence, unlike a number of occasions – such as in the coastal areas in March and again in Suwayda in July – in the almost one year since the fall of ex-President Bashar al-Assad. Security forces from the Minister of Interior and Defence deployed to the area and, in tandem with some tribal leaders, calmed the situation. A curfew was imposed by Syrian authorities.How dangerous is the potential for sectarian violence in Syria? What is the government doing to prevent it? And why are some minority communities in Syria worried about their future?What was the government’s response to the violence?The government appears to have acted quickly to ease tensions, particularly after the violent response to the killing from some tribal members in Homs’s Alawite neighbourhoods. No casualties were officially reported, though monitoring groups said there were dozens of injuries. Advertisement Government security forces, working alongside tr …
