Al-Assad reshuffles governors of five key governorates

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has reshuffled or replaced the provincial governors of Aleppo, Qunaytirah, Lattakia, Tartous and Idlib, Syrian state media reported on Wednesday, but without mentioning the reasons behind this decision.

According to Al-Quds newspaper, Mohamed Alabi was reportedly chosen to replace Mohamed Al-Aqqad in Aleppo, Mohamed Al-Sayyid took the place of Safwan Abu-Se’da in Idlib, with the latter being transferred to Tartous to replace Nizar Musa.

For Lattakia, Assad reportedly chose Ibrahim Al-Salim to replace Ahmed Abdul-Kader, who was moved to Qunaytirah to take over from Ma’an Salhuddin.

Reporting on the news, Reuters news agency said that the provinces of “Tartous and Latakia form the coastal heartland of Al-Assad’s minority Alawite sect and have been bastions of government support since the conflict began three and a half years ago,” adding that the Aleppo and Idlib provinces in the north are “both partly controlled by rebels and the site of frequent fighting”.

Since the Syrian uprising started in March 2011, Assad has replaced most of the country’s provincial governors, completely sacking some while moving others from place to place.