Syrian gov’t troops deployed to Latakia, Tartous after deadly clashes

After deadly clashes that resulted in at least three fatalities and 60 injuries, Syrian government troops have been dispatched to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous.

The fledgling government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has been pushing for stabilization and reunification internationally after 14 years of a disastrous civil war, is in turmoil.

In response to “outlaw groups” attacking civilians and security forces, the country’s ministry of defense announced on Sunday that army units with tanks and armored vehicles had reportedly entered the country’s west in response to “outrageous attacks” by the country’s minister of defense. The goal was to restore stability.

According to SANA, a source in Syria, “remnants of the defunct regime” of former president Bashar al-Assad carried out the attacks during demonstrations in Latakia, according to the state news agency SANA, which quoting officials.

According to SANA, “stabbings, blows from stones, and gunfire that targeted both security personnel and civilians” left 60 people dead.

‘Pro-government demonstrators confronted the protesters, and masked gunmen opened fire on security personnel,” according to reports of clashes.

A police officer was named as one of the victims, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior. Two security personnel were also injured in Tartous after unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at the al-Anaza police station in Baniyas, according to an Al Jazeera team that confirmed gunfire was fired at Syrian security forces at the Azhari roundabout in Latakia.

Alawite protests

As thousands of Alawite Syrians took to the streets on Sunday to protest violence and discrimination in the religious minority’s heartland in central and coastal Syria.

Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite spiritual leader who lives abroad and called for the protests, after the deadly bombing of a mosque in Homs on Friday, called for the demonstrations.

Eight people were killed when the bombing, claimed by a Sunni organization known as Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, occurred in a religious minority that was prominent during the regime’s rule, which was also a target of the ousted former president al-Assad.

The protesters also demanded the release of Alawite prisoners and the implementation of federalism, a system that would allow for greater autonomy for minorities.

Political federalism is what we oppose, not a civil war. Your terrorism is not what we want. In a video message posted on Facebook, Ghazal, the head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and abroad, stated that we want to determine our own destiny.

“We want federalism,” the statement read.

Ali Hassan, one of the anti-government protesters, claimed that the demonstrators were attempting to put an end to the Alawite community’s ongoing violence.

He said, “We just want to work in peace and go to bed peacefully, and we also want federalism.” We want federalism if this situation persists, he said. Why do 10 of us get murdered each day or every other day?

Mohammad Bakkour, a counterprotester, claimed he had staged a demonstration to show his support for the government.

He claimed that the antigovernment protesters were trying to “sabotage the new path toward rebuilding the nation” and that “we are here to support our new government, which has called for peace and for giving criminals amnesty since the first day of freedom.”