Syria’s government has ended a security operation in the country’s western coastal region, home to loyalists of former leader Bashar al-Assad, the Ministry of Defence in Damascus reported.
Spokesperson Hassan Abdul Ghani made the announcement on Monday, saying in a statement on X that security threats had been neutralised in Latakia and Tartous provinces. Thousands, including many civilians, are reported to have been killed in days of deadly violence that prompted international concern.
“Having achieved [the neutralisation of the security threats] we announce the end of the military operation,” Ghani said. “We were able … to absorb the attacks of the remnants of the toppled regime and its officers” and push them from “vital” locations.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that nearly 1,500 people had been killed in the violence since Thursday.
The majority, the war monitor reported, were civilians killed by security forces and allied groups in the heartland of the Alawite minority, to which deposed President Bashar al-Assad belongs. media has not verified the report.
Syria’s interim leader President Ahmed al-Sharaa of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) pledged on Sunday to hunt down the perpetrators of the violent clashes and said he would hold to account anyone who overstepped the new rulers’ authority.
Al-Sharaa’s office also said it was forming an independent committee to investigate the clashes and killings carried out by both sides.
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