Syrian security forces launched an operation in the west of the country against pro-Assad “militias” on Thursday, announced the official Sana agency, an NGO reporting the death of three “armed men” the day after deadly clashes with fighters affiliated with the old power.
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The operation takes place in the coastal province of Tartus (west), stronghold of the Alawite minority from which deposed President Bashar al-Assad, overthrown on December 8 by a coalition of rebel groups, comes.
It made it possible to “neutralize a certain number” of members of these “militias” loyal to Bashar al-Assad, specifies Sana. The objective is to “restore security, stability and civil peace” in this coastal region, specifies the agency.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported “three deaths” on Thursday during this operation, specifying that the victims were from the ranks of “fighters loyal to the former regime”.
The operation comes in a tense context in western Syria, where several towns experienced demonstrations on Wednesday denouncing an attack and a fire which hit a mausoleum of the Alawite minority.
Clashes also took place in the village of Khirbet al-Ma’zah, in the same region.
Fourteen members of the security forces were killed, according to the Interior Ministry, in clashes with armed men who tried to prevent the arrest of an official of the former power, according to the OSDH.
On Thursday, according to the OSDH, arrests were also carried out in connection with the demonstrations the day before.
Since December 8, the new power resulting from a coalition of radical Islamist armed groups has increased gestures of confidence towards the country’s minorities. But some fear in particular that the Alawite community will be the subject of violence.
