AL-SOMARIA, Syria (Reuters) -Syrian security forces stormed the rundown Damascus suburb in late August, toting guns, swords and eviction orders. In their wake, they left the district’s homes spray-painted with big black “X”s and “O”s: marking who could stay and who must go.

The raids targeted al-Somaria, home to the families of thousands of former soldiers in the army of Bashar al-Assad, whose toppling by rebels nine months ago unleashed a wave of violence against the minority Alawite group to which he belongs.

The district is entangled in the toxic legacy of the Assad dynasty which ruled Syria for more than five decades, crushing opposition from the majority Sunni Muslim population while handing top jobs and seized land to Alawite loyalists.

On August 27-29, scores of security forces l

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