Syrian gov’t troops deployed to Latakia, Tartous after deadly clashes

The deployment comes aft deadly unrest amid protests by the Alawite number successful the coastal cities.

Syrian authorities troops person been deployed to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous aft demonstrations led to deadly clashes successful which astatine slightest 3 radical were killed and 60 were injured.

It’s the latest turmoil to situation President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s fledgling government, which has been pushing to stabilise the federation and reintegrate internationally aft 14 years of ruinous civilian war.

Syria’s Ministry of Defence announced connected Sunday that service units with tanks and armoured vehicles had entered the centre of the cities successful the country’s westbound successful effect to attacks by “outlaw groups” against civilians and information forces, with a ngo to reconstruct stability.

Syria’s authorities quality bureau SANA, quoting officials, reported that the attacks were carried retired by “remnants of the defunct regime” of erstwhile President Bashar al-Assad during protests successful Latakia.

SANA said 60 radical were wounded by “stabbings, blows from stones, and gunfire targeting some information unit and civilians”.

Clashes reportedly broke retired arsenic the protesters were confronted by pro-government demonstrators, and masked gunmen opened occurrence connected information personnel.

The Ministry of Interior said successful a connection that a constabulary serviceman had been among those killed. An Al Jazeera squad confirmed that gunfire was directed astatine Syrian information forces astatine the Azhari roundabout successful Latakia, portion 2 information unit were besides wounded successful Tartous aft chartless assailants threw a manus grenade astatine the al-Anaza constabulary presumption successful Baniyas.

Alawite protests

The unit has flared arsenic thousands of Alawite Syrians took to the streets crossed the spiritual minority’s heartland successful cardinal and coastal parts of Syria connected Sunday to protestation against unit and discrimination.

The protests were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite spiritual person surviving extracurricular the country, who had issued a telephone to “show the satellite that the Alawite assemblage cannot beryllium humiliated oregon marginalised” aft the deadly bombing of a mosque successful Homs connected Friday.

The bombing, which killed 8 radical and was claimed by a Sunni radical known arsenic Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, was the latest enactment of unit against the spiritual minority, to which the ousted erstwhile President al-Assad besides belongs and which had immense prominence nether his rule.

The protesters besides demanded that the authorities instrumentality federalism – a strategy that would spot powerfulness decentralised from Damascus successful favour of greater autonomy for minorities – and the merchandise of Alawite prisoners.

“We bash not privation a civilian war, we privation governmental federalism. We bash not privation your terrorism. We privation to find our ain destiny,” Ghazal, caput of the Islamic Alawite Council successful Syria and abroad, said successful a video connection connected Facebook.

Protesters from the Alawite spiritual number show successful Latakia connected Sunday, days aft a weaponry successful an Alawite mosque successful Homs killed 8 radical and wounded 18 [Omar Albam/AP]

‘We privation federalism’

One of the antigovernment protesters connected Sunday, Ali Hassan, said the demonstrators sought an extremity to the ongoing unit against the Alawite community.

“We conscionable privation to slumber successful bid and enactment successful peace, and we privation federalism,” helium said. “If this concern continues similar this, past we privation federalism. Why is it that each time oregon each different day, 10 of america are killed?”

A counterprotester, Mohammad Bakkour, said helium had turned retired to amusement his enactment for the government.

“We are present to enactment our caller government, which from the precise archetypal time of liberation called for bid and for granting amnesty to criminals,” helium said, accusing the antigovernment protesters of seeking to “sabotage the caller way toward rebuilding the nation”.

“The full radical are calling for 1 radical and 1 homeland, but they bash not privation 1 radical oregon 1 homeland – they privation sectarianism, chaos, problems, and federalism for their idiosyncratic interests.”