The Syrian Defence Ministry has said that its military operation against remnants of the deposed Bashar Assad regime in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus has concluded.
“Our forces successfully neutralised security cells and remnants of the former regime in the towns of Al Mukhtareyah, Muzayraa, and Al-Zubar in Latakia, as well as Ad Dali, Ta’nita, and Al Qadmus in Tartus, thwarting threats and securing the area,” ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdul Ghani said in statements carried by the state news agency SANA.
He said public institutions are now able “to resume operations and provide essential services to our citizens, paving the way for a return to normal life and reinforcing security and stability.”
The spokesman said Syrian forces “successfully absorbed the attacks of the remnants of the former regime and its officers” and managed to push them away from key strategic locations.
Syrian forces “secured most of the main roads that these remnants had used as launching points to target civilians and innocent people,” he added.
The spokesman stressed that Syrian security agencies “will intensify their efforts in the next phase to ensure stability, maintain security, and protect residents.”
He said the Defense Ministry has developed “new plans to continue combating the remnants of the former regime, eliminate any future threats, and prevent the reorganisation of criminal cells.”
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Abdul Ghani said his ministry will grant an investigative committee “full opportunity to uncover the circumstances of the events, verify the facts, and ensure justice for the oppressed.”
Alawites killed
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 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.
Syria’s interim leader President Ahmed al-Sharaa 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.
For its part, the United States condemned the recent killings of religious and ethnic minorities in western Syria, calling for accountability from the country’s authorities.
“The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday in a statement posted on X.
“The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families,” he added.
He urged Syria’s leadership to take action.
“Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
The U.S. has expressed concern over the growing influence of “radical groups” in the region, particularly those with foreign fighters.
Assad loyalists
Last week, Syria’s coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus witnessed coordinated attacks by Assad loyalists. These were the most intense assaults since the regime’s collapse, targeting security patrols and checkpoints, resulting in casualties.
After the collapse of the Assad regime in December, the new Syrian authorities launched an initiative to settle the status of former regime members in the military and security forces, contingent on their surrendering weapons and remaining untainted by bloodshed.
While tens of thousands accepted the initiative, some armed groups made up of regime remnants, particularly in the coastal region where high-ranking Assad officers were stationed, rejected it.
Over time, these groups fled to the mountainous areas, stirring tensions, destabilising the region, and launching sporadic attacks against government forces in recent weeks.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on December 8, 2024, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period on January 29.
