At least 14 people were killed in clashes in Syria’s western Tartus province on Wednesday as new regime security forces clashed with a group of supporters loyal to the ousted Bashar Assad regime, according to a local war monitor and the new interior ministry. .
What do we know so far?
The unrest erupted when Islamist forces tried to arrest an Assad regime official who was “one of those responsible for the crimes at Saidnaya prison”, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement, identifying him Made in the form of Mohammed. Kanjo Hassan.
It says he “issued death sentences and arbitrary verdicts against thousands of prisoners.”
Hassan’s brother and armed men intercepted security forces, “laid an ambush for them near the village and targeted one of the patrol vehicles,” the Observatory said.
The country’s new Interior Minister Mohamed Abdel Rahman said: “14 Interior Ministry employees were killed and 10 others were injured in a treacherous attack by the remnants of the criminal regime in the province of Tartus while executing their functions of maintaining security and protection “
Those killed were from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the group that led the deadly offensive that ousted Assad’s regime earlier this month.
In a post on the messaging platform Telegram, Rahman vowed to crack down on “anyone who dares to undermine Syria’s security or endanger the lives of its citizens.”
Alawites oppose retaliatory violence
As Syria undergoes a transition of power and authority, an unverified video shows thousands of angry protesters taking to the streets in parts of the country over an attack on an Alawite temple.
Apart from the video, the protests are linked to recent incidents of violence against the minority community. The ousted Assad family are Alawites, a religious group considered loyal to the old regime.
Fabrice Balanché, a Middle East expert at France’s Université Lumière Lyon 2, estimates that the Alawite community makes up about 9% of Syria’s population.
“The Alawites were very close to Bashar’s regime. Their association with the regime risks inciting mass reprisals against them.” , “Islamists consider them even greater heretics,” he told AFP.
Protests broke out in coastal cities where most of the country’s minority Alawite community lives, including Tartus.
One person was killed and five others were wounded after gunshots were heard in the central city of Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory. It said the incident occurred when security forces opened fire to disperse the crowd.
Meanwhile, Syrian interim authorities insisted that the video was old and not a recent incident. He has tried to reassure minority groups that they will be protected.
MK/WD (AP, AFP, Reuters)
