A Syria war monitor said nine people were killed Wednesday in clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest an officer under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad who was linked to a notorious prison.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said "six members of the General Security force" of Syria's new authorities, were killed, along with "three armed men" in Khirbet al-Maaza, after forces sought to arrest an officer who was among "those responsible for the crimes of the Saydnaya prison".
The Observatory said one protester was killed and five others wounded on Wednesday in central Syria after security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators protesting an attack on an Alawite shrine.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that "one demonstrator was killed and five others wounded after security forces in the city of Homs opened fire to disperse those demonstrating against the attack on the shrine", after video footage of the incident emerged earlier in the day.
Following recent regional and international attention on Syria, the security situation was disrupted on Wednesday by clashes in the city of Tartus. Demonstrations also took place in Homs, Latakia and Qardaha along the Syrian coast, led by Alawite sect followers protesting the burning of a religious shrine in Aleppo.
In response to these developments, Syria's Military Operations Administration imposed a curfew in Homs, Baniyas and Jableh, and announced that military reinforcements were being deployed to the Syrian coast.
In this context, clashes erupted between gunmen and security forces affiliated with the Military Operations Department in Tartus, after a number of residents refused home searches in the village of Khirbet al-Ma'za, where the gunmen targeted a car belonging to the General Security Forces, which led to its burning and deaths on both sides.
For its part, the Military Operations Department explained that “our forces are besieging an armed group of former regime elements in Tartus,” confirming “the neutralization of an outlaw group.”
Al-Arabiya and al-Hadath sources also reported that six Syrian Interior Ministry personnel were killed in the Tartos clashes.
Syria's new authorities said that video footage of an attack on an Alawite shrine was “old” and that “unknown groups” were behind the incident, after protests erupted in the minority community's heartland.
The footage showing “the storming and attack (of the shrine in Aleppo) is old and dates to the time of the liberation” of the northern Syrian city by Islamist-led rebels earlier this month, an Interior Ministry statement said, adding that the attack was carried out by “unknown groups” and that republishing the video served to “stir up strife among the Syrian people at this sensitive stage.”
SOHR said that large demonstrations took place in the coastal cities of Tartus and Latakia, provinces that are the heartland of the Alawite minority, which deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad hails from.
The Britain-based Observatory also reported protests in parts of the central city of Homs and other areas including Qardaha, Assad's hometown.
Witnesses told AFP demonstrations that broke out in Tartus, Latakia and nearby Jableh.
Images from Jableh showed large crowds in the streets, some chanting slogans including “Alawite, Sunni, we want peace.”
Thousands of Syrians protest in Latakia after alleged attack on Alawite shrine
— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) December 25, 2024
Thousands of protesters gather in the city of #Jableh, in #Latakia province, after a video circulated purportedly showing the burning of an Alawite shrine in northern #Syria. The Syrian Observatory… pic.twitter.com/Ay3YPAL7BJ
State news agency SANA said that police in central Homs imposed a curfew from 6 PM on Wednesday to 8 AM the next day, while local authorities in Jableh also announced a nighttime curfew.
The Observatory said the protests erupted after a video began circulating earlier Wednesday showing “an attack by fighters” on an important Alawite shrine in the Maysaloon district of Syria's second city, Aleppo.
It said five workers were killed, adding that the shrine was set ablaze.
Abdel Rahman said the exact date of the video was unknown.
He said it was filmed early this month, after rebels led by Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham launched a lightning offensive and seized control of major cities including Aleppo on December 1, ousting Assad a week later.
AFP was unable to independently verify the footage or the date of the incident.
Assad long presented himself as a protector of minority groups in Sunni-majority Syria.
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