Local intelligence sources in Hatay, a province in southern Turkey on the border with Syria, say a terrorist organization named the Turkish Peoples' Liberation Party-Front -- The Urgent Ones (THKP-C Acilciler) is trying to actively recruit Arab Alevi youth in Hatay to fight in Assad's army in Syria.
Some neo-nationalist groups in the province of Hatay support the THKP-C Acilciler, whose leader, Mihraç Ural, is a fugitive wanted by law enforcement. Hatay has a population of 500,000 Alevis, and these groups, local intelligence sources say, are trying to politicize the Alevi community. The purpose is to draw Turkey into a sectarian conflict in Hatay, and at the same time force the Turkish government to abandon its current Syrian policy, which is anti-Assad.
Ural, according to reports from the region, has set up an armed group in Syria called the Revolutionary People's Army. Alevi youths who want to fight against opposition forces alongside Assad's army are referred to this organization, intelligence sources claim. Ural is better known for his “revolutionary” side than his Alevi identity.
Security forces blame the provocative rally in Hatay on Sunday, when about 1,000 protesters gathered in a demonstration to show their support for the Assad regime, on Ural. A security official who asked to be unnamed said: “Mirhaç Ural is trying to create confusion by stirring up the city to end Turkey's Syria policy. But he is not effective. Alevis aren't supporting him. The Mukhabarat is using Mihraç Ural, and Syria is protecting him.”