Syria says 14 policemen killed in ambush by forces loyal to al-Assad

Attack comes aft constabulary enforce curfews pursuing protests prompted by an online video of an onslaught connected an Alawite shrine.

Members of the Syrian constabulary person been killed successful an “ambush” by forces loyal to the ousted President Bashar al-Assad successful Tartous governorate successful the latest information situation for the caller medication that came to powerfulness a fortnight ago.

Syria’s caller Interior Minister Mohammed Abdul Rahman said connected Thursday that “remnants” of the Assad authorities successful Tartous had killed 14 constabulary members and wounded 10 others, vowing to ace down connected “anyone who dares to undermine Syria’s information oregon endanger the lives of its citizens”.

The onslaught came arsenic protests took spot respective cities aft a video showing vandalising of an Alawite shrine successful the metropolis of Aleppo circulated online connected Wednesday. Police had imposed curfews successful Homs, Latakia, Jableh and Tartous until 8am (05:00 GMT). Al Jazeera could not corroborate if the curfew has been lifted.

The interior ministry said connected its authoritative Telegram relationship that the video, which showed equipped men walking wrong the shrine and posing adjacent quality bodies, dated backmost to the rebel violative connected Aleppo successful precocious November.

The ministry said that the unit was carried retired by chartless groups, adding whoever was circulating the video present appeared to beryllium seeking to incite sectarian strife.

State media reported that residents of Homs said that demonstrations successful the metropolis were led by members of the number Alawite and Shia Muslim spiritual communities.

Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to unit and unit successful caller days aimed astatine members of the Alawite minority, a sect agelong seen arsenic loyal to al-Assad, who was toppled by absorption fighters led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) radical earlier this month.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Damascus, described the concern successful Syria arsenic highly delicate now, with flashpoints implicit the past 48 hours peculiarly successful the Alawite heartland of Latakia and Tartous, arsenic good arsenic Homs and Aleppo.

Hashem said the caller medication has brought immense reinforcements to information forces to effort to trim hostility successful the areas.

“Yesterday, precocious astatine night, determination were high-level meetings of the caller medication astir however to determination forward, and 1 of the options is simply a crackdown connected what they picture to beryllium remnants of the aged regime, members of the Fourth Division, [which] was the elite statesmanlike defender loyal to Maher al-Assad, member of the erstwhile president,” helium said.

“But the caller medication is small spot acrophobic astir the imaginable of a bloody confrontation.”

Assad, who took implicit arsenic president aft his father’s decease successful 2000, fled to Russia aft absorption fighters captured Damascus connected December 8, ending much than 5 decades of Baath Party rule.

The country’s caller leaders person repeatedly promised to support number spiritual groups, who fearfulness for their rights nether the caller administration.

A fig of radical are believed to beryllium killed and wounded successful a abstracted onslaught by the erstwhile authorities forces successful the coastal region, according to the interior ministry.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies