More than 70 people have been killed and dozens injured in clashes between Syrian security forces and fighters linked to the toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, according to a war monitor.
Syria’s new authorities sent major security reinforcements overnight to the cities of Latakia and Tartus in the country’s northwest in a bid to get the situation under control, state media reported. The coastal region is the heart of al-Assad’s minority Alawite sect, and it remains a base of support for the country’s former president.
The violence on Thursday was the worst since al-Assad was removed from power in early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 35 members of state forces, 32 fighters loyal to al-Assad and four civilians were killed, with dozens of others wounded. The death toll could not be independently verified by Euronews.
The clashes started when government forces were ambushed by several groups of al-Assad aligned militias during a security operation in Latakia, according to the province’s chief of security, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kunaifati.
Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani, a member of the defence ministry, delivered a warning to al-Assad loyalists in Latakia.
“Thousands have chosen to surrender their weapons and return to their families, while some insist on fleeing and dying in defence of murderers and criminals,” he told state media “The choice is clear: lay down your weapons or face your inevitable fate.”
Since al-Assad’s ouster, there have been some attacks against members of the Alawite sect, although the new transitional government — led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa — has said it is against the collective punishment or sectarian vengeance.
Members of the minority had held top posts in the country — mainly in the military and security agencies — until al-Assad’s fall.
The government in Damascus has blamed al-Assad loyalists for carrying out attacks over the past weeks against security forces.
On Friday morning, large numbers of government troops were deployed in Latakia, where a curfew has been imposed in the city and other coastal areas.
Security forces said there were some clashes in one neighbourhood but that most of the city was calm and under government control.
Nearby in the coastal region, the outskirts of the towns of Baniyas and Jableh are still under the control of al-Assad loyalists, said Rami Abdurrahman, chief of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The former president’s hometown of Qardaha and several Alawite villages nearby are also outside government control, he added.
Syria’s new rulers also face a security challenge in the south of the country, with authorities there reporting that at least 15 people were killed in violent clashes between government forces and armed groups earlier this week.
