The new Syrian Interior Minister, Mohamed Abdel Rahman, stated on Wednesday that 14 members of his ministry were murdered by “remnants” of the ousted president Bashar al Assad in the province of Tartus, after an NGO reported clashes in the area.
“14 members of the Ministry of the Interior were killed and another 10 were injured after (…) a treacherous ambush by remnants of the criminal regime” in the province of Tartus “while carrying out their duties to maintain security and protection.”
Syrian authorities beefed up security in Damascus and in the governorates of Homs (norte), in Tartu y Latakia (west), in the middle of a curfew, after protests and clashes that left “several dead,” according to official statements.
After warning that “they will hit with an iron fist anyone who dares to destabilize or create chaos in Syria,” the security authorities of the interim Government affirmed in separate statements the reinforcement of security in said provinces, as well as in the central governorate of Hama.
The Ministry of the Interior released images on its accounts in which an intense presence of soldiers, including members of elite forces, masked and in black uniforms, can be seen in vital places in cities such as Damascus and Hama.
“Forces of the Military Operations Command deployed in the Umayyad Square in Damascus, in the midst of an atmosphere of calm and security,” reads one of the photo captions of the aforementioned Department.
In another: “Deployment of Public Security Department troops to Hama Governorate to maintain security and stability and protect public and private properties.”
The Military Operations Command, of the coalition that overthrew Bashar al Assad on the 8th, highlighted, for its part, “the deployment of additional forces (…) to establish security and hold accountable the remnants of the former regime who are trying to destabilize security and terrorize residents in some areas of the Syrian coast”.
The reinforcement of security coincides with the curfew declared between 6:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT) today and 8:00 a.m. Thursday following demonstrations and clashes in Homs and several areas of the Mediterranean provinces of Latakia and Tartus.
According to various sources, the demonstrations by followers of the Alawite Shiite branch of Islam, to which the deposed Al Assad belongs, occurred after the circulation on the networks of several videos with images of the burning of the tomb, in the city of Aleppo (northern ), of Sheikh Abu Abdullah al Khusaiby, one of his religious sanctuaries.
The Ministry of the Interior highlighted that this video “is old”, and considered that its dissemination “aims to sow conflict among the Syrian people in this very delicate phase that Syria is going through”, in reference to sympathizers of the overthrown regime.
“Some remnants of the old regime on the Syrian coast tried to take advantage of the rumors and attacked our forces (…), resulting in several martyrs and injuries“, stressed the aforementioned department, without specifying.
Local sources assured, for their part, that two people died in clashes in Tartus, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights indicated that at least six people lost their lives in clashes on the outskirts of that governorate.
The Military Operations Command, of the insurgent coalition that overthrew Al Assad three weeks ago, confirmed the curfew in Homs, without referring to protests, while it assured that its troops “killed a group of former members of the old regime “who had carried out a siege on the outskirts of Tartus”, without specifying their number.
In a series of brief statements on Telegram, the Operations Command also reported that its fighters “have neutralized an illegal group near Al Kardaha,” a town located in the vicinity of Latakia.
According to Rami Abdelrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the village of Jirbet Al Maaza, in Tartus, was the scene “before the protests” of “violent clashes” between members of the Operations Command and “an armed group of inhabitants who “They refused to search their houses.”
“Six people died” in those clashes, according to Abdelrahman.
The observatory later explained, in a statement, that a security force was going to arrest a “former officer of the old regime in said village for his responsibility for crimes against prisoners in Sednaya prison” on the outskirts of Damascus.
“While searching for him, the brother of the wanted man and some armed youths intercepted and expelled the patrol,” and subsequently “laid an ambush near the town and attacked one of the patrol vehicles, resulting in the death of six members of the patrol.” the security forces, and three attackers” he explained.
“Security forces surrounded Jirbat al Maaza, arrested dozens of people and took them to a security center, amid reports of other deaths and injuries,” he concluded.
Syria’s transition has been surprisingly smooth, but it has only been a few weeks since Assad fled the country and his administration and forces disbanded. The insurgents who overthrew Assad are rooted in a fundamentalist Islamist ideology and, although they have promised to create a pluralist system, It is unclear how or if they plan to share power.
Since Assad’s fall, dozens of Syrians have been killed in acts of revenge, according to activists and observers, the vast majority of them from the minority Alawite community, a branch of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs.
(With information from AP, EFE and AFP)
