Thousands of Alawites seek refuge in Lebanon, where locals lead the response

Thousands of Alawites seek refuge in Lebanon, where locals lead the response

AL-MASSAOUDIYE — Sara (a pseudonym) wore a fuzzy rainbow jacket, her blue rubber sandals caked in thick mud as she trudged up the road from the river marking Lebanon’s northern border with Syria on Wednesday, two plastic bags of children’s clothes in her hands.  The 24-year-old had just come from her home in the Syrian coastal city of Baniyas, roughly 60 kilometers to the north. After fleeing to Lebanon over the weekend, she returned this week t…