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Government forces sent major reinforcements overnight to the
cities of Latakia and Tartus as well as nearby towns and
villages that are the heartland of the minority Alawite sect and
a base of support for Assad, to try to get the situation under
control, state media reported.
The clashes are the worst since Assad was removed from power in
early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Since Assad’s fall, there have been some
sectarian attacks against members of his minority Alawite sect.
These incidents have occurred despite the fact that officially
the new authorities have said they are against collective
punishment or sectarian vengeance.
On Friday morning, large numbers of troops were deployed in
Latakia and no civilians were seen in the street as a curfew
that was imposed in the city and other coastal areas remains in
force. Members of the security force said there were some
clashes in one of the city’s neighborhoods but most of the city
was calm and under government control.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war
monitor, said that since the clashes began on Thursday
afternoon, 35 members of government forces, 32 fighters loyal to
Assad and four civilians have been killed.
The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said the outskirts of
the coastal towns of Baniyas and Jableh are still under the
control of Assad loyalists. He added that Assad’s hometown of
Qardaha and many Alawite villages nearby are also outside
government control.
A Qardaha resident told The Associated Press via text messages
that The situation “is very bad.” The resident, who asked that
his name not be made public for safety reasons, said government
forces are firing with heavy machine guns on residential areas
in Qardaha.
Another resident said that they have not been able to leave
their homes since Thursday afternoon because of the intensity of
the shooting.
Abdurrahman said the clashes began when a security force tried
to detain a wanted person near Jableh and was ambushed by Assad
loyalists.
Syria’s conflict that began in March 2011 has left more than
half a million people dead and millions displaced.
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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue
contributed to this report from Beirut.
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