Syria’s new administration is carrying out a security crackdown against what it has described as “remnants” of former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, with operations under way in several parts of the country.
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported on Saturday that authorities were conducting “a large-scale sweep operation” near the city of Latakia on Syria’s northwestern coast.
The push — in an area where al-Assad enjoyed support from the Alawite community — came in response to “reports about [the] presence of elements linked to remnants of Assad’s militias”, SANA said in a post shared on social media.
Reporting from the capital Damascus, media’s Hashem Ahelbarra explained that the new administration said it is not targeting the Alawite community, from which al-Assad hailed.
Instead, the authorities said the security operation has focused on soldiers and Syrian army officials associated with al-Assad and his brother, Maher al-Assad, a powerful former military commander.
“They say that [they’ve] issued an ultimatum to those people to hand over weapons to the new administration,” Ahelbarra reported, adding that operations also were being carried out in Homs, Aleppo and on the outskirts of Damascus.
The push comes days after 14 police officers were killed in what the authorities said was an “ambush” by forces loyal to al-Assad in the Tartous governorate, another area on Syria’s western coast.
Interior Minister Mohammed Abdul Rahman had promised on Thursday to crack down on “anyone who dares to undermine Syria’s security or endanger the lives of its citizens”.
Syrian opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of the country earlier this month after a rapid offensive that ousted al-Assad after more than two decades in power.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
