The clashes between the Syrian security forces under the new Islamist authorities and the country’s gunmen, Lleials, to President Bashar al-Assad, in the western coast of Syria, have assassinated more than 70 people and left an area out of government control, said a war monitor on Friday.
The clashes, which erupted on Thursday and are coordinated throughout the coastal region, were a major climb and a challenge for the new Damascus government, where the old insurgents who are now in power have pledged to unite Syria after 14 years of brutal civil war.
During the night, Damascus sent reinforcements to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus, as well as in nearby villages and villages, the heart of the Alawite sect of the Assad minority and its support base for a long time, trying to put in control, the state media reported.
It was the worst violence, as the ASSAD government was ranked in early December by insurgent groups led by Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS. Since then, there have been some sectarian attacks on Alawites minorities, although new authorities say they will not allow collective punishment or sectarian revenge.
Under Assad, Alawites occupied more important places in the army and security agencies. The new Government has blamed its faithful in recent weeks against the new security forces in the country.
A large number of troops were seen on Friday morning at Latakia, where a curfted counterattack in the city and other coastal areas was imposed. Safety members said there were minor clashes in one of the city’s neighborhoods, but most of Latakia was calm and under government control.
Monitors say dozens have died
Britain’s Human Rights Observatory, a war monitor, said that 35 members of the Syrian government forces, 32 fighters loyal to Assad and four civilians have been killed.
The head of the observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, said that the outskirts of the coastal cities of Baniyas and Jableh were still under control of Assad’s faithful, such as the native city of Assad de Qardaha and many villages in Alawite nearby.
A resident of Qardaha told The Associated Press in a text message that the situation is « very bad ». The resident, who requested that his name were not made public by fear of his security, said that government forces fired with heavy machine guns in the city’s residential areas.
Another resident, who also spoke with the state of anonymity who feared his safety, said they had not been able to leave the house since Thursday afternoon due to the intensity of the shooting.
Gregory Waters, a colleague associated with the Middle East Institute who has researched the coastal areas of Syria, said he does not expect the flap to increase in the fighting supported between the two parties. However, he said he was worried that he could cause cycles of violence between different civil communities living along the coast.
In addition, any violation of the security forces sent from Damascus on armed groups would let the young men Alawite be more afraid of the new government, and more likely to take weapons, said Waters.
Abdulrahman, of the Observatory, said that the clashes began when government forces tried to detain a desired person near Jableh and were ambushed by the Assad faithful.
People ask Russia help
On Friday they met outside the main Russian air base in Syria near Jableh, asking for protection from Moscow. Russia joined the Syria conflict in 2015, which encounters Assad, although it has opened links to new authorities after its fall. Assad has lived in Moscow since leaving Syria in December as an offensive by the former insurgents who approached Damascus.
Asked about the outbreak of struggle in the coastal region and possible threats to Russian troops, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied that « the safety of our military is assured at a proper level. »
« I would not comment on the operational situation as we do not know the details, » Peskov said during a conference with journalists.
The Syria conflict began in March 2011 and has left more than half a million dead and millions of displaced people.
Nabil Hawara fled to Canada as a refugee after passing two decades to the notorious prisons of the Assad Syria regime, headed by Hafez al-Assad and then his son Bashar, who was expelled by rebels on December 8. Hawara says that the torture he supported throughout his imprisonment included guards jumping on his back, breaking several of his ribs and caused permanent lung damage.
Leave a Reply