The volatile situation in the middle east continues. Since the Syria civil war ended and Bashar al-Assad was ousted, it was presumed that once the country stabilizes under the new Ahmed al-Sharaa regime, the war torn nation will see some peace and quiet. However the region has erupted once again. Since Thursday, more than 200 people have been killed and dozens wounded in violent clashes between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights(SOHR), the incidents have taken place in the coastal province of Latakia. It is the worst violence in Syria since rebels toppled Assad in December and installed the Islamist transitional government under HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham). Syria’s current transitional leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday urged insurgents from ousted president Bashar Assad’s Alawite minority to lay down their arms or face the consequences after the fiercest attacks on the war-torn country’s new rulers yet. According to a Syrian war monitor, the threat came as Syria’s security forces “executed” 162 Alawites on Friday.
The Britain-based Observatory said: “Five separate massacres claimed the lives of 162 civilians in Syria’s coastal region on Friday, including women and children. The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the Ministry of Defense and the Interior, both under the Islamist-led authorities control,” the rights group announced.
Attack on Alawites
Syria’s leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday urged insurgents from ousted president Bashar Assad’s Alawite minority to lay down their arms or face the consequences after the fiercest attacks on the war-torn country’s new rulers yet. The threat came as Syria’s security forces “executed” 162 Alawites on Friday, according to a Syrian war monitor, in a massive operation in the ethnic group’s Mediterranean heartland triggered by deadly clashes with gunmen loyal to Assad the day before.
The Alawites are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism. A sect of Shia Islam, Surveys suggest Alawites represent an important portion of the Syrian population and are a significant minority in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. There is also a population living in the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights. The Alawites form the dominant religious group on the Syrian coast and towns near the coast, which are also inhabited by Sunnis, Christians, and Ismailis.
Over the years the Alawite community have been strong backers of the Assad family. The Assad family are themselves from the Alawite sect and had been promoting their own community. The Alawites had been given prime positions of power and had managed the ground control for the Asaad forces. Enjoying the patronage of the Assad family it is estimated that more than 80 per cent of the Alawites worked for the state. They had long continued to be staunch Assad family loyalists. However now after the ouster of the Assad family the Alawite community has become the target of other sects that believe the Alawites had unleashed incredible oppression on them with powerful state backing under Assad.
Current Violence
The current violence erupted in Jableh, a town in Latakia province where the security forces launched operations to eliminate Assad loyalists who had reorganized in the mountainous coastal region. The coastal region is the heartland of the Alawite minority and a stronghold of the Assad family, which belong to the Alawite sect. The violence has erupted in multiple locations in Syria. There have also been reports of clashes in the cities of Homs and Aleppo. A spokesman for Syria’s defence ministry, Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani, issued a warning to Assad loyalists fighting in Latakia via state media.
According to earlier reports, the death toll was 48, with SOHR describing the fighting as the “most violent” since Islamist rebels ousted Assad in December. The dead included 16 security personnel and 28 pro-Assad fighters, while others were wounded or captured. A curfew has been imposed in Latakia and Tartous port cities, where the fighting has broken out. Reports suggest that the clashes erupted when gunmen linked to an Assad-era commander, Suhail al-Hassan, attacked security patrols and checkpoints. In response, government forces launched helicopter strikes on a village in Latakia.
Al-Hassan, nicknamed “The Tiger”, was a key military commander under Assad, leading special forces in major battles against the rebels in 2015. His hometown, Beit Ana, became a focal point of the latest tensions after residents reportedly disrupted security forces during an operation to arrest an arms dealer.
Latakia’s security director, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kunaifati, told state news agency SANA, “The armed groups that our security forces were clashing within the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail al-Hassan, who committed the most heinous massacres against the Syrian people.”
Security forces have been deployed in and around Jableh to restore order. Reports indicate that Alawite community leaders have accused the government of targeting peaceful protesters in helicopter strikes. The Alawites, Assad’s sectarian base, largely backed him during his rule but are now caught in the turmoil following his downfall.
Volatile situation in Syria
The violence has increased in Syria for a few weeks. Previously, Syrian regime forces clashed with local Druze gunmen. The gunmen from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha entered Jaramana and clashed with Druze fighters, which caused one Druze gunman dead and nine others wounded.
The situation looks volatile, and different ethnic and power groups have again started fighting for dominance in Syria. Israel has already destroyed the state military bases and equipment in the bordering region, making the new Syrian government lame militarily. The upcoming weeks look crucial for the new Syrian government.
Also Read: Israel forces move towards Damascus? Syria’s Druze community at centre of storm
The latest violence is part of Syria’s ongoing instability following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. His ouster, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels, marked the end of his 24-year rule and the Assad family’s five-decade hold on power. In the final hours before Damascus fell to the rebels, Assad fled the country in secrecy, misleading his aides about Russian military support.
“He told his commanders and associates after his Moscow trip that military support was coming,” said Hadi al-Bahra, the head of Syria’s main opposition abroad. “He was lying to them. The message he received from Moscow was negative.“
As his government collapsed, security forces abandoned their posts, allowing rebels to seize control of Damascus. Assad’s brother Maher and other key regime figures also fled, while rebel fighters ambushed some.
Since Assad’s departure, the HTS-led insurgents have promised an inclusive government, but concerns remain over their Islamist ties. The violence on minority communities such as Alawites, Druze and Christian has intensified and expected to rise in coming weeks.