Syria’s new rulers launch a security crackdown as tensions rise

New Syrian authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal area where 14 policemen were killed the day before, state media reported, vowing to pursue “remnants” of Bashar al-Assad’s ousted government accused of the attack.

The violence in Tartous Governorate, part of the coastal region inhabited by many from Assad’s Alawite sect, represents the bloodiest challenge yet to the Sunni Islamist-led authorities who ousted him from power on December 8.

Members of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, had great influence in Assad’s Syria, controlling the security forces he used against his opponents during the 13-year civil war, and in crushing dissent during decades of bloody repression by his police. state.

The Syrian news agency SANA reported that the security forces launched Operation Tartus to control security, stability and civil peace and pursue the remnants of Assad’s militias in the jungles and hills.

The announcement of the campaign came at a time when the Damascus authorities warned against trying to stir up sectarian strife, after a video clip dating back to late November spread on social media showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in Aleppo. The Interior Ministry said that unknown groups committed the violence and that its forces were working “day and night” to protect religious sites.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda group that led the rebel campaign that ousted Assad, has repeatedly pledged to protect minorities, who fear the new rulers will seek to impose an Islamic government. Many members of minorities, including Christians, are concerned.

Reports of sectarian violence in Damascus

In one Alawite-majority neighborhood of Damascus, Alawite sheikh Ali Dreir said homes were vandalized and people were beaten based on their religious identity, despite promises by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham to treat the sect with respect. He accused a “third party” of trying to stir up strife.

Dreir told Reuters that the community extended its hand to the new government, but “many violations occurred,” citing several accounts of people being beaten at a checkpoint.

An HTS fighter in the area said that an incident occurred on Thursday, in which Alawites were taken off a bus and beaten because of their religion, but he denied HTS responsibility.

Dreier said, “This is an issue of sedition and we do not want to be drawn into it.”

He added: “Thousands of people are filled with resentment, anxiety and their dignity is insulted.” “However, we must remain committed to peace.”

Taher Dhawa (38 years old), an Alawite who was a military volunteer during the Assad era, said that “the burden of all mistakes” should not fall on one sect. “We don’t want division”

The Syrian war has taken on sectarian dimensions, with Assad relying on Shiite militias from across the Middle East, mobilized by his ally Iran, to fight an insurgency dominated by members of the Sunni Muslim majority.

In a sign of sectarian tensions, demonstrators chanted “Oh Ali!” Pictures posted on social media on Wednesday showed a rally outside the local government headquarters in Tartous.

The chant was a reference to Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Muslims but especially highly respected by Alawites and Shiites, who believe that Ali and his descendants should have led Islamic society.

Civil peace

SANA reported that Muhammad Othman, the newly appointed governor of the coastal Latakia region bordering Tartous, met with Alawite sheikhs to “encourage community cohesion and civil peace.”

The Syrian Ministry of Information announced a ban on what it described as “the circulation or publication of any media content or news of a sectarian nature aimed at sowing division.”

Iran, Assad’s long-time Shiite regional ally, has criticized the course of events in Syria in recent days.

On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to “stand with firm determination against those who planned and caused this insecurity.”

Khamenei expected that “a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because the Syrian youth today have nothing to lose,” describing the country as unsafe.

Newly appointed Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria’s sovereignty and security.

He added, “We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and hold them responsible for the repercussions of the recent statements.”