Ali Habib Beirut – George Shahin General Ali Habib was found dead in his home a day after he was dismissed as defense minister, websites affiliated with Syrian opposition groups reported on Tuesday. On Monday, Syrian President Bashar Assad appointed army Chief Daoud Rajha to replace Habib who was Minister of Defense since 2009. The SANA news agency reported Monday that Habib had been suffering from deterioration in his health. The report of his death has yet to be confirmed by any major Arab news outlet.  Opposition websites also quoted Syria TV reports allegedly suggesting that Habib had died a natural death. Since word of his ouster became public, many rumors surrounding the issue have surfaced. London-based daily al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Habib was replaced due to his objection to allow military forces into Hama, which has suffered brutal army attacks in the past week.
Division within the Alawite sect:
Observers linked the killing of Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib, or what the Syrian regime made out to be a "natural death," to recent reports about the existence of a division within the ruling structure of the Alawite sect.  They do not count it too far from the bombshell dropped in early August by the "New York Times" about a possible Alawite coup on the ruling regime, especially as Habib’s family is considered to be much larger than that of Assad’s within the Alawite sec.
The newspaper had revealed in a report that the majority of the Alawites, who only make up 12% of Syria’s population, supported al-Assad, mostly for fear that they would be killed if they were to oust him; therefore the opposition must convince the Alawites that they can safely turn against the Assad regime.
Furthermore, the newspaper pointed out that this is not far-fetched as believed by many observers, saying: "With increasing numbers of people killed, after security forces killed about 1,500 civilians since March, Alawite leaders were not oblivious to the quick disruption to the Syrian government authority and its inability to regain control." They added: “If the prominent Alawite leaders were positive of their safety they may begin to withdraw their support from the Assad family and try out their luck with the opposition, and may even give army leaders an indication to dissent and take other officers with them.”
The Times continued: " It is known that the Alawites dominated Syria since taking Hafez Assad to power in 1970, but unlike his father Bashar was unable to place the security system under his complete control since he took to power in 2000, and instead tried to broaden the regime’s base by getting close to Sunnis, who make up the majority of the population, by marrying a Sunni woman from her family in Hums and encouraging the establishment of Sunni mosques and Quranic schools." And went on: "Although Bashar did not change the total domination of the Syrian security forces through his Alawite tribe; he left his brother Maher Assad the responsibility of organizing the security sector with the help of his cousins and uncles who control the secret police deployed everywhere."
"Since mid-March and after demonstrator suppression grew, the army got rid of a number of officers and soldiers, including a large number of Sunni soldiers in order to reduce the likelihood of rebellion. The Fourth Group, which enjoyed a bad reputation under the leadership of Maher Assad, played a vital role in to imposing the regime, and they were supported by organized group of Shabiha who make up parallel militia dressed in civilian clothes. "
Based on the foregoing, the times stressed that the Alawites and not the army are the ones who hold the key to change and acceleration of the downfall of the Assad regime; but they need assurances from the opposition before abandoning Al Assad. This set off a pleasant surprise that some of the religious Alawite leaders have tried to draw closer to Sunni religious figures last July, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood to guarantee their own protection in the post-Assad era.
They also said that: “the opposition is supposed to makes these promises which encourage the Alawites to join the revolution, this responsibility falls under the majority of people who are Sunnis, and the few others who are Druz, Christian and Shia, who feel that they need to protect the regime and think that they won’t be subjected to face reprisals, and the Sunni religious and political leaders who can save Syria from its sectarian demon.”
The Times concluded by saying that Syrians from all sects have began to understand that everyone is a victim of the regime and that this is a true conspiracy by the Assad family, and that the Sunni leaders need to now work on preventing the revolution from steeping towards a civil war, by comforting others and assuring them that they won’t be facing reprisals in the ‘new Syria’ and that will allow for joining the Alawites and opposition to fight for the same cause and end the regime.”