Syria’s new rebel-led authorities say supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad have killed 14 Interior Ministry troopers in an “ambush” within the nation’s west.
Another 10 troopers have been stated to have been wounded in Tuesday’s combating close to the Mediterranean port of Tartous, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite Muslim minority.
Reports say safety forces have been ambushed as they tried to arrest a former officer in connection together with his function on the infamous Saydnaya jail, close to the capital Damascus.
Just over two weeks in the past, Assad’s presidency fell to insurgent forces led by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated three “armed males”, whom it didn’t establish, have been additionally killed within the clashes.
The SOHR added that safety forces later introduced in reinforcements.
In a separate improvement, Syrian authorities imposed a nighttime curfew within the central metropolis of Homs, state media reported.
Reports say this adopted unrest brought on by a video purportedly displaying an assault on an Alawite shrine.
The Interior Ministry stated the footage was previous, courting again to the insurgent offensive on Aleppo in late November, and that the violence had been carried out by unknown teams.
The SOHR stated one protester was killed and 5 injured in Homs.
Demonstrations have been additionally reported in areas together with the cities of Tartous and Latakia and Assad’s hometown of Qardaha.
The Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which many members of the political and navy elite of the previous regime belonged, together with Assad’s household.
The neighborhood fears revenge and its members are accused of the torture and murders that occurred in Syria beneath Assad.
Former officers refuse at hand over their weapons and locals in some cities counsel they wish to struggle again, as seems to have been the case in Tartous.
There are calls from Alawite spiritual leaders for a common amnesty for Alawites, however that is unlikely because of the quite a few alleged warfare crimes dedicated by its members.
Tens of 1000’s of individuals have been tortured to loss of life in Syrian prisons, 1000’s of households are nonetheless ready for solutions and justice.
Syrians are demanding justice and trials for these accountable, exactly what worries members of the Alawite group.
The HTS-led flash offensive, which began from northeast Syria and unfold throughout the nation, ended greater than 50 years of Assad’s rule.
Assad and his household have been compelled to flee to Russia.
HTS has since promised to guard the rights and freedoms of many non secular and ethnic minorities in Syria.
The group is designated a terrorist group by the United Nations, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom and others.
Protests broke out throughout the nation on Tuesday about the burning of a Christmas treepushing new calls for on the brand new authorities to guard minorities.
