The Syrian Ministries of Defense and Interior launched a security campaign in the rural areas of Latakia governorate to pursue what they described as “remnants of the regime” following an attack on members of the General Security Forces near the city of Jableh.
On Thursday, March 6, the official Syrian news agency (SANA) reported from an unnamed security source in Latakia that groups of “regime militia remnants” targeted members and vehicles of the Ministry of Defense near the town of Beit Aana in rural Latakia, resulting in the death of one member and injuries to others.
Subsequently, there was another attack on ambulances attempting to evacuate the injured near Beit Aana in rural Latakia, according to SANA.
The Syrian agency added that the Ministry of Defense sent security reinforcements to the area, prompting the “remnants of Assad regime” to establish positions within the town of Beit Aana and directly target its forces.
SANA also reported the statement of the Latakia governorate’s security director, who said, “Our forces are currently imposing a security cordon to encircle the remnants of Assad’s militias and lawless gangs in the villages of Beit Aana and al-Daliah in rural Latakia.”
He noted that the armed groups faced by the security forces in rural Latakia “were formerly affiliated with war criminal Suhail al-Hassan, who committed the most heinous massacres against the Syrian people.”
Aircraft in the skies
Amid reports from Latakia governorate regarding the military confrontations, video recordings of a helicopter targeting a site in the conflict area with missiles surfaced.
The helicopter flights coincided with that of a warplane, with conflicting reports about its affiliation; local news outlets stated that the planes were Russian, while others mentioned that the warplane belonged to the Syrian Air Force.
The media relations official in Latakia, Nour El-Din Brimo, told Enab Baladi that events began when a patrol from the Ministry of Defense came under direct attack near Beit Aana in Jableh, leaving fatalities and injuries, with repeated attacks occurring during attempts to evacuate the injured.
He added that the Ministries of Defense and Interior sent military reinforcements and launched a security campaign to pursue the “remnants of the fallen regime” in the area, with helicopter participation targeting what Brimo described as “precise” points of their locations in the mountains surrounding the al-Daliah and Beit Aana areas.
Brimo also stated that a Russian warplane conducted a sweep in the skies over the areas experiencing confrontations, emphasizing that the flights were routine and had recurred over the past few days.
He added that a helicopter belonging to the Syrian Ministry of Defense participated in operations to comb the mountains surrounding Beit Aana, where “regime remnants” are concentrated.
Calls for protests against the government
In the midst of the events taking place in the area, the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora, a newly formed religious council claiming to represent the Alawite community in Syria, called for peaceful protests against the security campaigns in the Syrian coast.
In a statement on Thursday, the council said, “Since the fall of the regime, we have adhered to wisdom and self-restraint, not out of weakness, but out of faith in our homeland and civil peace. We have repeatedly called for the submission of a list of wanted persons and to allow dignitaries to enter during the search campaigns, but our requests have been met with neglect and procrastination.”
The statement added that abuses and the “unruliness of elements” had increased beyond any order, which has led to violations of residents’ properties and the public uttering of sectarian phrases alongside “campaigns of terror and murder from which neither civilians nor children have escaped.”
The statement from the Alawite Council urged the people of the Syrian coast to hold a peaceful sit-in in squares “to support your people in the villages of Jableh and to elevate the voice of truth against oppression. Protest with strength, but wisely, do not raise anything but national slogans, and do not touch properties, for we want to protect our people.”
Not the first time
Just two days ago, two members of the Ministry of Defense were killed in an armed ambush executed by individuals whom the General Security stated were affiliated with the “remnants of the regime” in the al-Da’tour area in Latakia.
The Director of the General Security in Latakia, Mustafa Knaifati, told SANA that they received reports of an attack on security personnel, prepared a special security force, gathered information, and reached one of the cell’s members and raided their hideout.
On March 2, the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of several wanted individuals from the previous regime’s members in the town of Ain Shaqaq in the rural area of Jableh, stating that they had been referred to the judiciary.
The Syrian Interior Ministry continually announces the arrest of individuals from the previous regime, stating that they find weapons and ammunition in their possession.
The Directorate of Security in Homs announced the seizure of a warehouse containing various caliber mortar shells in the town of Kafar Abd in northern Homs, after surveillance and investigations, and that the ammunition was confiscated and legal measures were taken, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Since December 2024, just days after the collapse of the regime, former Minister of Interior Mohammad Abdul-Rahman reported the killing of 14 members and injuries to 10 others from the Ministry of Interior following an ambush executed by “regime remnants” in the rural area of Tartus.
Abdul-Rahman said in a statement that the Ministry of Interior “will strike with an iron fist against anyone who dares to tamper with Syria’s security and the lives of its citizens,” and launched a subsequent security campaign targeting the area as well.