Hassan claims control over 12,000 fighters, while Makhlouf claims at least 54,000, according to internal documents from their factions.
Field commanders say fighters receive minimal pay and extort money from both sides. Yet the exiles appear not to have mobilized forces, and Reuters could not verify troop numbers or confirm any operational plans. The governor of Tartus, Al-Shami, said potential fighters number in the tens of thousands.
Sources close to the plotters acknowledge that tens of thousands of Syrian Alawites could face violent retaliation if they act against the new Sunni-led government, which rose to power one year ago after emerging victorious from nearly 14 years of sectarian civil war.
In March, nearly 1,500 civilians along the Mediterranean coast were killed by forces aligned with the government after a failed Alawite uprising. Both Hassan and Makhlouf now promise to defend Syria’s Alawites from the ongoing insecurity since March, including near-daily kidnappings and killings.