[Regnum] Fierce fighting has broken out between Syrian security forces and supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad in the suburbs of the Syrian port city of Latakia. This was reported on March 9 by the Al Ikhbariya TV channel.
"Heavy clashes are taking place around the village of Batanita on the outskirts of Latakia, where many war criminals from the former Assad regime and the armed groups who protected them have fled," the statement said.
The new leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, called the events one of the expected challenges. He called for maintaining unity and peace, noting that the country has the "potential for survival."
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on December 8, 2024, Assad resigned as president of Syria and left the country after the successful offensive of armed opposition groups on Damascus. He received political asylum in Russia. Al-Sharaa became the head of the interim government.
On March 7, clashes broke out in Latakia between Assad supporters and forces of the new government. Clashes also began in Tartus province. The republic's authorities sent troops into these regions.
According to the Kurdish television channel Rudaw, as of March 8, at least 532 civilians have been killed in armed clashes in Syria. It is also reported that 93 members of the security forces and 120 fighters from among the former president's supporters have been killed.
In addition, fighting broke out in the port city of Baniyas in Tartus province on March 9. According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, Assad supporters attacked a gas power plant in an attempt to destroy the city's energy infrastructure, and government forces are trying to retake the facility.
Fighting Clashes Begin at Baniyas Gas Power Plant in Syria
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Clashes between supporters of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and forces of the country's new government began at a gas power plant in the port city of Baniyas in Tartus province. This was reported on March 9 by the Syrian state agency SANA.
Pro-Assad militias are said to have attacked the plant in an attempt to destroy the city's energy infrastructure, while security forces loyal to the interim government are trying to retake the plant.
Baniyas is a city and port on the western coast of Syria, located between Latakia and Tartus. It is an important center for the gas and oil industry in the Damascus-controlled areas.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on March 6, clashes occurred in Latakia between Assad supporters and forces of the new Syrian government. As a result of the unrest, a curfew was imposed in the province. Later, units of the Syrian army loyal to the new government entered the city.
Kurdish television channel Rudaw reported on March 8 that at least 532 civilians were killed in armed clashes in the provinces of Latakia, Tartus and Homs. It specified that most of the dead belonged to the Alawite community.
The new head of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, called on armed groups of Assad supporters in the provinces of Latakia and Tartus to lay down their arms.
On March 7, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that Russia is alarmed by the sharp aggravation of the situation in Syria. The diplomat added that in the conditions of the transition period that Syria is currently experiencing, national accord, strengthening the security of citizens, and respect for their legal rights regardless of religious or national affiliation are of primary importance.
On December 8, 2024, Assad resigned as President of Syria and fled the country after a large-scale offensive by armed opposition groups on Damascus. He received political asylum in Russia. Ahmed al-Sharaa became the head of the interim government.
Syrian leader tells Assad loyalists to surrender, as violence said to claim over 1,300
[IsraelTimes] Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says the country is confronting attempts to drag it into a civil war, as
In a video speech, Sharaa says "remnants of the former regime" have no choice but to surrender immediately.
An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by button men loyal to ousted leader Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators...Thursday has escalated into festivities that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days, amid claims of mass executions and a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
Sharaa says those who attacked civilians will be held responsible, following intense international outcry.
In its latest toll, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says 830 Alawite non-combatants were killed in "executions" carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.
The fighting, which is ongoing, has also killed 231 members of the security forces and 250 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Observatory, taking the overall corpse count to 1,311.
The tolls have not been independently confirmed.
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