Nobody ever used to ask Hassan which sect he belonged to. The 32-year-old Syrian has been in Germany since 2015, having fled after taking part in his country's civil war on the side of anti-government forces. But now they do.

"The level of sectarian abuse and hate speech on social media is intense," Hassan, who lives in Berlin, told DW. Like every other ordinary Syrian interviewed for this story, he didn't want to use his full name so he could speak openly about what is a highly sensitive topic among Syrians in Germany, and back in Syria. "We're losing each other over this."

By "this," Hassan means recent violence in Syria that saw two communities, the Druze and Bedouin-Sunnis, begin fighting in the southern province of Sweida in mid-July. The violence started due to tit-for-tat kidnappings between the two groups, and then escalated.

It's not the only such inter-communal violence in Syria recently. In March, there was fighting between Syria's Alawite community and other Syrians, after rumors of an uprising.

In both cases, there was unlawful killing by most groups involved as well as looting, kidnapping and violence. Also, in both cases, Syria's interim government was unable to maintain security.

Those conflicts have now extended to the Syrian community in Germany.........

© Deutsche Welle