Syria Holds Security Operations In The Aftermath Of Attacks By Military Members Of The Assad Era

Syria/UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Syrian government launched a security operation in the city of Latakia after two members of their troops were killed in the attack. State media said the attack was carried out by remnants of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government.

The sound of gunfire was heard throughout the night when government security forces were deployed in the Datour district in Latakia, part of the coastal area where Assad received support from the Alawi community where his family came from.

Coastal areas have emerged as one of the main security challenges for the new Presidential government while Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has deployed many of his troops to the region since Assad was ousted in December.

A senior security official in the region told Reuters on Tuesday, March 4, there was an increase in attacks on security patrols and checkpoints in several cities in Latakia province over the past two weeks, allegedly carried out by former hiding military personnel.

Syrian news agency SANA, citing security sources, reported two members of the defense ministry were killed in al-Datour by a "group of remnants of the Assad militia".

Security forces have launched a campaign to arrest them.

A resident of Datour told Reuters there was a intense shootout in the early hours of the morning and security forces with a number of vehicles had surrounded the neighborhood, before the situation calmed down in the morning.

Senior security sources blamed the attack on the Latakia region for the proliferation of weapons in the hands of former security personnel and soldiers who refused to hold reconciliation agreements with the new government.

The source said the Alawi elders in several cases had collaborated with security forces to hand over former personnel suspected of committing crimes during the Assad era, to prevent crackdown and potential civil unrest.

Last week, a police station was attacked during a confrontation in the ancestral city of Assad, Qardaha, which is located in the mountains about 25 km (16 miles) east of Latakia.

Residents and activists Qardaha said the incident began when members of the security forces tried to enter the house without permission, sparking opposition from residents.

One person was killed by gunfire, and local residents accused security forces of being responsible for the shooting, two residents and activists Alawit said.

The statement made by Latakia's head of security at that time did not mention the shooting.

They accused groups opposing the implementation of security trying to prevent security forces from establishing checkpoints and attacking police stations.

Syekh community and figures from Qardaha issued a statement via video after the incident accused "foreigners" of trying to "exploit the gap between Qardaha society and authorities with the aim of disrupting" security.