Push comes as Syria's new de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, meets Bahraini and Libyan delegations in Damascus.
Syria's new administration is cracking down on security against what it says are “remnants” of the old President Bashar al-Assad's management, with operations underway in several parts of the country.
The official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported on Saturday that authorities were carrying out “major sweeping operations” near the city of Latakia on Syria's northwest coast.
The push – in an area where al-Assad was supported by the Alawite community – came in response to “reports of (the presence of) elements associated with the remnants of Assad's militias”, SANA said in a post share on social media.
Reporting from the capital Damascus, Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra explained that the new administration said it is not targeting the Alawite community, where al-Assad comes from.
Instead, the authorities said the security operation has focused on Syrian army soldiers and officers linked to al-Assad and his brother, Maher al-Assad, a powerful military commander.
“They say (they) have issued an ultimatum to these people to give weapons to the new administration,” Ahelbarra said, adding that operations were also underway in Homs, Aleppo and on the outskirts of Damascus.
Push will come days after killing 14 police officers in what the authorities said was an “ambush” by forces loyal to al-Assad in the Tartous governorate, another region on Syria's west coast.
Interior Minister Mohammed Abdul Rahman had promised on Thursday to ban “anyone who wants to undermine Syria's security or endanger the lives of its citizens”.
Syrian opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of the country earlier this month after a swift offensive that gone al-Assad after more than two decades in power.
A a political movement ongoing, with Syria's new de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa – who headed HTS and was previously linked to al-Qaeda – holding talks with several Arab and Western diplomat in the last few days.
Several countries have urged al-Sharaa to ensure the protection of religious and ethnic minorities amid recent tensions and fear that any unrest could have a negative impact on Syria and the region in general.
“What happens now in Syria will not only affect the Syrians themselves, but it could spread throughout the country,” said Al Jazeera's Ahelbarra. “That's why he's worried people about what happens next.”
Al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, met with the Bahraini delegation in Damascus on Saturday, as well as a senior official from the Libyan government recognized by the United Nations.
“We expressed our full support to the Syrian authorities in the success of the important transition phase,” Libyan Minister of State for Communications and Political Affairs Walid Ellafi told reporters after the meeting.
“We emphasized the importance of coordination and cooperation…
Meanwhile, Lebanese officials and a war monitor said Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they entered the country illegally through informal channels. .
Many senior Syrian officials and people close to al-Assad's family fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after al-Assad's ouster on December 8.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based monitor, said Syrian military personnel of various ranks were sent back through the northern Arida crossing in Lebanon.
SOHR and a Lebanese security official told Reuters news agency that the returnees were detained by the new Syrian authorities after crossing the border.
