The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, has reported attacks on Alawite civilians, frequently by unknown gunmen. The country’s new rulers have pledged to bring all armed groups under the state’s control, but the security situation remains unstable, with some Syrians seeking vengeance.
Who are the Assad loyalists taking up arms?
There does not yet appear to be a single unifying force responsible for orchestrating the attacks on Syria’s western coast, and so far the violence is largely attributed to small-scale cells of Assad loyalists, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group.
The attacks against security forces on Thursday, however, marked the “first time that pro-Assad loyalist activity demonstrated clear coordination and prior planning,” according to Charles Lister, the director of the Syria and counterterrorism programs at the Middle East Institute.
On Thursday, as security forces came under attack, a group calling itself the “Military Council for the Liberation of Syria” issued a statement vowing to overthrow the country’s new leadership. The statement announced the establishment of the group, and was signed by a former general in the Assad regime’s elite Fourth Division, which was headed by Mr. al-Assad’s brother Maher al-Assad.
It remains unclear if the former general, Gaith Dalah, established this military council himself, or if the group is claiming him as their leader, according to the Institute for the Study of War. But its formation comes on the back of similar announcements by a trickle of other pro-Assad armed groups that have sprung up since the government’s fall.
In recent days, some of those groups have released videos showing gunmen calling for the overthrow of Syria’s new leadership, and have claimed responsibility for attacks against security forces on their social media channels. The New York Times has not independently verified the videos.
Anas Khattab, the new head of Syria’s intelligence services, said in a statement on Friday that former Assad regime military leaders were behind the violence, with support from unspecified “fugitives” outside the country.
How have Syria’s new government and its allies responded?
The government has poured security forces into the coastal region in a bid to restore order, with SANA, Syria’s state-run news agency, posting photographs of long lines of armored vehicles deploying in coastal cities. Curfews have been extended in the cities of Latakia and Tartus where the violence has centered, with residents ordered to stay home as security forces conduct “combing operations” aimed at armed remnants of the Assad government, according to SANA.
“The choice is clear: Lay down your weapons or face your inevitable fate,” Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, a spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Defense, said in a statement, adding that thousands of militants had surrendered their arms, but that some continued to fight.
