Al Jazeera :
Members of the Syrian police have been killed in an “ambush” by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Tartous governorate in the latest security challenge for the new administration that came to power about two weeks ago.
Interior Minister Mohammed Abdul Rahman said on Thursday that “remnants” of the al-Assad government in Tartous had killed 14 police members and wounded 10 others, promising to crack down on “anyone who dares to undermine Syria’s security or endanger the lives of its citizens”.
Security forces launched an operation on Thursday against pro-al-Assad “militias” in Tartous, state news agency SANA reported, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting arrests of several people in connection with the deadly ambush.
The operation had already succeeded in “neutralising a certain number” of armed men loyal to toppled President al-Assad, SANA said.
The attack came as protests took place in several cities after a video showing the vandalising of an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo circulated online on Wednesday. Police had imposed curfews in Homs, Latakia, Jableh and Tartous until 8am (05:00 GMT). Al Jazeera could not confirm if the curfew has been lifted.
The Interior Ministry said on its official Telegram account that the video, which showed armed men walking inside the shrine and posing near human bodies, dated back to the rebel offensive on Aleppo in late November.
The ministry said the violence was carried out by unknown groups, adding whoever was circulating the video now appeared to be seeking to incite sectarian strife.
State media reported citing residents of Homs that demonstrations in the city were led by members of the minority Alawite and Shia Muslim religious communities.
Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite minority, a sect long seen as loyal to al-Assad, who was toppled by opposition fighters led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group earlier this month.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Damascus, described the situation in Syria as extremely delicate now, with flashpoints over the last 48 hours particularly in the Alawite heartland of Latakia and Tartous, as well as Homs and Aleppo.
Hashem said the new administration has brought huge security reinforcements to try to reduce tension in the areas.
“Yesterday, late at night, there were high-level meetings of the new administration about how to move forward, and one of the options is a crackdown on what they describe to be remnants of the old regime, members of the Fourth Division, [which] was the elite presidential guard loyal to Maher al-Assad, brother of the former president,” he said.
“But the new administration is a little bit concerned about the potential of a bloody confrontation.”
Al-Assad, who took over as president after his father died in 2000, fled to Russia after opposition fighters captured Damascus on December 8, ending more than five decades of Baath party rule.
The country’s new leaders have repeatedly promised to protect minority religious groups, who fear for their rights under the new administration.
Several people are believed to have been killed and wounded in a separate attack by the former regime forces in the coastal region, according to the Interior Ministry.
Mohamed Vall, reporting from northeast Syria’s Manbij, said clashes were reported around the city 24 hours ago as the Kurdish forces, who have been pushed east of the Euphrates River, are trying to retake it.
“It’s a very tense situation. The picture is not very clear here. People fear things could change in the city at any moment,” he said.
Kurdish fighters backed by the United States have largely been in control of the region for nearly a decade. Now the Syrian National Army, supported by Turkiye, is trying to widen its area of control.
“It’s a matter of national security for Turkiye, as Ankara considers the Kurdish YPG militia – the main component of the United States-allied Syrian Democratic Forces – as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK],” he said.
The PKK has waged a rebellion against the Turkish state since 1984.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurdish fighters in Syria to either lay down their weapons or “be buried”.
Following al-Assad’s ouster, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the YPG militia must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria’s future.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi delegation met Syria’s new rulers in Damascus on Thursday to address border security in the wake of al-Assad’s rule.
Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi told state media that the delegation, led by intelligence chief Hamid al-Shatri, met with “the new Syrian administration” to discuss “developments in the Syrian arena, and security and stability needs on the two countries’ shared border”.
