Syrian armed group kills several HTS security troops in Latakia

At least 16 members of the General Security Administration from the Al-Qaeda-linked government in Syria were killed on 6 March during ambushes by armed groups identifying themselves as the ‘Coastal Shield Forces,’ which local media described as “remnants of the Assad regime.”

“Huge military reinforcements are heading to the Jableh area and its countryside to support the public security forces and restore stability to the region. The Ministry of Defense forces will be a backup for the General Security forces that are absorbing the attack carried out by the remnants of Assad’s militias on several areas in a unified manner,” sources in the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led Ministry of Defense told SANA.

The violence broke out following the arrival of military reinforcements from Idlib to launch a large-scale security operation in Latakia and its countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

In the wake of the deadly ambushes and subsequent clashes, hundreds of citizens poured into the streets of Tartous in western Syria to protest against the de facto government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa – formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the founder of Al-Qaeda in Syria and deputy to ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Videos shared on social media show that the Turkish and Gulf-backed security forces readily opened fire on the protesters. According to local reports, a curfew has been issued in Tartous.

In another video, a person calling themselves the leader of the Coastal Shield Forces announced the “irreversible decision” to “liberate the entire Syrian coastline from [HTS] terrorist forces.”

In a statement released late on Thursday by a group calling itself the Military Council for the Liberation of Syria announced that “following months of injustice, sectarian violence, looting, oppression and the seizure of Syrian land by external aggressors,” the armed groups would “liberate all Syrian territory from occupiers and terrorist forces” and “overthrow the HTS regime.”

The statement also calls for “rebuilding state institutions on national and democratic foundations” and “establishing a unified, sovereign state consisting of all sects and ethnicities.”

In response to the uprising, HTS-linked extremist groups and supporters of the new government also took to the streets, saying they were ready to fight the “remnants of the [Assad] regime, the Alawites.”

Since the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government in December, hundreds of Syrians have been killed by members of the HTS-led security forces in field executions. Hundreds of kidnappings have also been reported.

Several Al-Qaeda-linked individuals were appointed to top positions in the new Syrian government. Foreign fighters who illegally entered the country during the US-backed war against Damascus have been given senior ranks within the new armed forces.