QARDAHA, Syria - He carried no weapons and helped keep government security forces alive, but Khairallah Dib still needed a promise of amnesty to come out of hiding.

He had been lying low for weeks after Alawite fighters staged a March insurrection against Syria's new Islamist-led rulers. The uprising by loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad killed more than 200 Syrian security forces and triggered days of vengeance.