Syria's new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day earlier, vowing to go after the “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government half accused of the attack, state media said.
The violence in the Tartous region, part of the coastal region that is home to many members of Assad's Alawite faction, has marked the deadliest challenge yet to ousting the Islamist-led Sunni authorities from power. on December 8.
Members of the Alawite minority, a sect of Shia Islam, have made a major impact in Syria under Assad, taking control of the security forces he used against his opponents during the 13-year civil war. and to crush dissent during decades of bloody oppression by his police. state.
The security forces launched the Tartous operation to “maintain security control, stability and civilian peace, and to pursue the remnants of Assad's militias in the forests and hills,” state news agency SANA said.
An ambush by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad has killed 14 members of the Syrian police in western Syria, the transitional administration said on Thursday. Syria's new interior minister said on Telegram that 10 members of the police were also wounded by what he called 'remnants' of al-Assad's government in Tartous.
The crackdown was announced as Damascus authorities warned of an attempt to incite sectarian strife, after a video from late November circulated on social media showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in Aleppo. The interior ministry said that unknown groups carried out the violence and that their forces were working “night and day” to protect religious sites.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former al-Qaeda affiliate that led the rebel campaign that toppled Assad, has repeatedly pledged to protect minority groups, on are afraid that the new rulers might try to impose an Islamic government. Many members of minority groups, including Christians, are concerned.
Sectarian violence was reported in Damascus
In a predominantly Alawite neighborhood of Damascus, Alawite sheik Ali Dareer said homes were vandalized and people were beaten because of their religious identity, despite HTS promises that they would be treated with respect share. He blamed a “third party” for trying to foment dissent.
Dareer told Reuters that the community had extended its hand to the new government but “there have been many violations,” citing several accounts of people being beaten at a checkpoint.
An HTS fighter in the area said there had been an incident on Thursday when Alawites were taken off a bus and beaten because of their religion, but denied that HTS was to blame.
“This is a vexing issue, and we don't want to be dragged into it,” Dareer said.
“Thousands of people are filled with disgust, anxiety, and their dignity is violated,” he said. “However, we must be committed to peace.”
Taher Dawwa, 38, an Alawite who volunteered in the army under Assad, said that “the burden of every mistake” should not be placed on one group. “We don't want a split.”
Syria's war took on sectarian dimensions as Assad drew on Shia militias from across the Middle East, mobilized by his ally Iran, to fight the insurgency controlled by members of the Muslim majority. Sunni.
Underscoring sectarian tensions, protesters chanted “Oh Ali!” at a rally outside the local government headquarters in Tartous, images posted on social media showed on Wednesday.
The canon referred to Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Muslims but especially respected by Alawites and Shias, who believe that Ali and his descendants should be on the head of the Islamic community.
Civil peace
Mohammed Othman, the new governor of Latakia province which is near Tartous, met with Alawite sheiks to “promote community cohesion and civil peace,” SANA said.
Syria's information ministry announced a ban on what it described as “the distribution or publication of media or news content with a sectarian tone aimed at spreading division.”
Assad's long-time Shia regional ally, Iran, has criticized the events in Syria in recent days.
On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to “stand with strong determination against those who organized and caused this insecurity.”
Khamenei expects that “a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today the youth of Syria have nothing to lose,” saying that the country is unsafe.
Syria's new foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria's sovereignty and security.
“We warn them not to spread chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the consequences of their latest ideas,” he said.
