The conflict in Syria, pitting majority Sunnis against rulers from an offshoot of Shiite Islam, is increasing sectarian tension that is closely linked to political discord in the region, experts say.
Thousands of people have died in a crackdown by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Alawite sect, on a mainly Sunni uprising against his rule that erupted in March 2011. Protests began peacefully but the movement gradually took on a militant face and has evolved into an armed revolt, though demonstrations are still held.
How to respond to the violence in Syria has split the Arab world. Influential Sunni-ruled Gulf states Saudi Arabia and Qatar want to arm the Syrian rebels and Shiite-majority Iraq opposes the move.
The Middle East is seeing “tension and regional escalation” — part of it between Iran and Gulf Arab states — “and another part sectarian, and they are intertwined with each other,” said Paul Salem, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
“The situation in Syria is fuelling the Arab division,” Salem said.
Iraqi analyst Ibrahim al-Sumaidai also warned of a “major division” between states led by Saudi Arabia and the so-called Shiite crescent led by Iran, that is underpinned by sectarian differences. “The tension between them is especially centred on … states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar that are trying to end Bashar al-Assad’s regime because of a sectarian mindset,” he said. At last month’s Arab summit in Baghdad, all the Gulf states except Kuwait sent low-level delegations to the meeting, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said that was a “message to the government of Iraq.”
Without elaborating, he went on to accuse Iraq of “neglecting” some parts of its population, including minority Sunnis, in the formation of its government. “Iraq is a very important state in the Arab world, but we do not agree with some of the policies against a specific component,” an apparent reference to Sunnis. On Sunday, Iraqi premier Maliki criticised the Qatari and Saudi stance on Syria, saying: “We reject any arming (of Syrian rebels) and the process to overthrow the (Assad) regime, because this will leave a greater crisis in the region.”
“We are against the interference of some countries in Syria’s internal affairs,” the Iraqi leader said.
Fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who took refuge in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region in December to avoid charges of running a death squad, left for Qatar on Sunday and then moved on to Saudi Arabia.
