The Syrian transitional government is launching its first crackdown on political dissidents following an “ambush” by militants loyal to the old regime.
A group of combatants still loyal to deposed President Bashar al-Assad reportedly killed 14 rebel police officers in the rural areas of Tartous province, authorities reported on Thursday. An additional 10 officers were allegedly wounded.
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The transitional government — formed by the leaders of the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — is responding with a sharp crackdown in Tartous. Authorities promise to quell the unrest building in religious and ethnic minority communities on the coast.
It’s the first direct conflict between the now-established rebel government and dissident Syrian citizens, who have been organizing protests and demonstrations across the country.
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The Tartous province is home to various minority communities, including the Alawites — the ethnic and religious group to which Assad belonged. The former president also found support among Shiite Muslims and Christians.
The Syrian transitional government consistently claims it will respect and defend the rights of religious minorities, but many fear that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will govern under a harsh and punative form of Islamism.
Various protests have escalated tensions following the sudden toppling of the Assad regime. The transitional government is under-resourced and under-staffed, unable to effectively govern the various power factions forming in the vacuum.
Alawite demonstrations broke out in Damascus, Homs, and other cities earlier this week. The government responded to the unrest by instituting a curfew and issuing a ban on publishing subversive media.
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Meanwhile, a video of a Christmas tree in Al-Suqaylabiyah being set ablaze sparked outrage among Christian communities. The rebel government reportedly condemned the arson and promised to restore the Christian religious display.
Assad pulled out of Syria following the total collapse of the Syrian Arab Army and sacking of Damascus on Dec. 8. The ruling family accepted an offer for humanitarian asylum from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Following his escape from Syria into Moscow, reports surfaced claiming that Assad had initially hoped to hold and defend a small statelet on the coast with the help of the Russian military. The unrest in Tartous shows that the deposed president does maintain a strong base of support in that region.
The Kremlin reportedly denied the idea for an Assad-run micro-state.
