[They are paid by governments wishing to overthrow the legitimate Syrian Govt.]
The Alawites ruling Syria are 10% of the population, vs the 70% Sunni Arabs who have risen in revolt. They are incumbent, but “legitimate” is a stretch. The current government might be “legitimate” if its domain were limited to the Alawites’ traditional homeland of Latakia. As it stands, it is anything but legitimate. And I write as someone who thinks Assad’s moves to evict the Sunni Arabs via terror bombings, including gas attacks, are not pretty, but completely understandable. Without Deir Yassin to scare the resident Arabs into headlong flight, Israel might have a Palestinian Muslim majority today, which is to say - there might not be an Israel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre
*** The Alawites ruling Syria are 10% of the population, vs the 70% Sunni Arabs who have risen in revolt. ***
One of Syria’s strengths is it is Secular Syria. Asma Assad is a Sunni Muslim, married to an Alawite. The Uyghurs fighting in Syria “ain’t from around these parts” to steal some from old Westerns.