WorthyNews: Scores Killed In Clashes Between Syria’s New Rulers And Pro-Assad Forces

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – More than 70 people have died in heavy clashes between security forces of Syria’s new rulers and fighters loyal to the ousted President Bashar al-Assad, a well-informed war monitoring group confirmed Friday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called the fighting in a coastal area of Syria “the worst” since rebels toppled Assad in December and installed an Islamist transitional government.

Sources said a curfew has been imposed in the cities of Latakia and Tartous, where fighting has broken out.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that 71 people had been killed, including 35 members of government forces, 32 gunmen affiliated with the former regime’s army, and four civilians.

Worthy News could not independently verify the numbers, but the group has been known for its accurate information in the past.

Following the latest fighting, government security convoys patrolled the roads Friday in Latakia and Tartus along the Mediterranean shore.

On the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, Syrian defense ministry spokesman Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani warned Assad loyalists in Latakia to surrender.

THOUSANDS SURRENDER

“Thousands have chosen to surrender their weapons and return to their families, while some insist on fleeing and dying in defense of murderers and criminals,” he said.

“The choice is clear: lay down your weapons or face your inevitable fate.”

Observers said the clashes came after 16 people serving as government security forces were killed by pro-Assad gunmen late Thursday near Latakia. They reportedly died in an ambush as they left the village of Beit Aana.

The confrontations included thousands of anti-government protesters who demanded that government forces leave the countryside in Latakia and Tartus Provinces, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Yet tensions remained high Friday as the Syrian government sent reinforcements to the coast to assert authority over a few towns and villages occupied by anti-government gunmen.

Syria’s coastal region was a stronghold for the pro-Assad Alawite minority in Syria. The now-exiled Assad family is Alawite. They have been granted refuge in Russia, which maintains military bases in Syria.

Minority Christians have been in the crossfire amid concerns that Shariah, or strict Islamic law, will be imposed under the new Islamic rulers or other groups.

SECURITY CHALLENGE

The region has become a significant security challenge for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Alawite activists claim their community hasbeen subjected to violence and attacks since Assad fell, particularly in rural Homs and Latakia.

He is also facing resistance in the south, where there have been clashes with Druze forces in recent days. Additionally, the international community, including Israel, remains concerned about chemical weapons and other military activists.

Earlier this week, Syria’s foreign minister told the global chemical weapons watchdog that the new government was prepared to destroy any remaining stockpiles produced under Assad.

Assad’s government denied ever using chemical weapons during the 14-year civil war. However, human rights investigators accused “the former regime of carrying out at least dozens” and perhaps more chemical attacks.

One of the deadliest attacks was reported in August 2013 when a sarin attack in Ghouta killed at least 1,729 people and injured 3,600 patients.

Additionally, an April 2017 sarin attack in Khan Shaykhun killed at least 89 people, and in April 2018, the “Douma chemical attacks” killed 43 people and injured 500 civilians, according to rights activists.

All of them were perpetrated by the military forces of Assad, activists say, despite Assad’s denials.

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