Syrian forces target pro-Assad fighters after deadly clashes

DAMASCUS

Syria's security forces launched an operation on Thursday against pro-Assad "militias" in the western province of Tartus a day after deadly clashes with gunmen affiliated with the former government.

The operation had already succeeded in "neutralizing a certain number" of armed men loyal to toppled President Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor has reported several arrests in connection with the clashes late on Dec. 25.

Syria witnessed its most tense events since the fall of Assad with deadly clashes and protests that the new government said were "provoked" by elements of the former regime, leading to a curfew in Homs.

At least 17 people were killed in the clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest an officer under Assad who was linked to a notorious prison.

The war monitor said "14 members of the General Security force" of Syria's new authorities were killed, along with "three armed men" in Khirbet al-Maaza, raising an earlier toll of nine dead.

Forces had sought to arrest an officer who was among "those responsible for the crimes of the Saydnaya prison,” added the observatory.

The doors of Syria's prisons were flung open after rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Assad on Dec. 8, more than 13 years after his brutal repression of anti-government protests triggered a war that has killed more than 500,000 people.

The observatory said the wanted man was "an officer in the former regime forces who held the position of director of the military justice department and field court chief,” identifying him as Mohammed Kanjo Hassan.

It said he "issued death sentences and arbitrary judgements against thousands of prisoners.”

The clashes in Tartus province, a stronghold of Assad's Alawite minority, erupted after "a number of residents refused to allow their houses to be searched,” said the Britain-based observatory.

The officer's brother and armed men intercepted the security forces, "set up an ambush for them near the village and targeted one of the patrol vehicles,” the Observatory said.

Meanwhile, apparently unrelated protests broke out in other western cities and towns over a video showing an attack on an Alawite shrine, with the observatory saying one demonstrator was killed by security forces fire in Homs city.

Clashes broke out between demonstrators and security forces in central Homs and western Tartus provinces, resulting in deaths and injuries on both sides, with authorities introducing curfew measures in Homs from 6.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m.

In a statement, the interim Interior Ministry has said the videos were actually from "old footage from the period when Aleppo was liberated by unknown groups."

"We emphasize that our institutions have been working day and night to protect our properties and religious sites," said the statement by the ministry's Media Office.