Syrian forces on alert as two commanders loyal to Assad seized in coastal region

Official say 10,000 troops are present in the area, which provided core support for the former regime

Syrian security forces on the outskirts of Latakia in the eastern coastal region during clashes with Al Assad loyalists early last month. AP

The Syrian Defence Ministry has placed its forces in a state of heightened readiness as the hunt for remnants of the Assad regime intensifies, security officials told The National on Thursday.

The campaign by Syria's new government has been linked to a series of sectarian killings since former president Bashar Al Assad was ousted in December by a rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS).

One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ministry had obtained information of possible co-ordinated ambushes on security forces deployed in Syria's coastal provinces. Mr Al Assad's regime drew its core of support from the rugged area.

The attacks could be aimed at disrupting operations in which an increasing number of former regime officials blamed for atrocities and unlawful killings during the nearly 14-year civil war have been apprehended, the official said. About 10,000 government troops stationed on the coast are “enough to deal with any threat”, although they remain exposed to hit-and-run attacks, he added.

The new authorities, led by HTS and allied militias, have captured thousands of former Assad loyalists, particularly near the eastern coast.

Many have been released but a substantial proportion of those seized have disappeared or were killed, according to witnesses and human rights groups. No members of the upper echelons of the former ruling elite, or their senior security operatives, have been seized.

On Thursday, the authorities announced the arrest of Tayseer Mahfouz, a once-feared officer in the former military intelligence. They said he was responsible for the arrests of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in Damascus at the start of the 2011 revolt against Assad family rule.

“He thought he was so invincible that he would tell prisoners ‘I am your God’, the official said.

The Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of Arwa Suleiman, who was allegedly behind the killing of civilians in the coastal city of Latakia. The official described Mr Suleiman as a mid-level commander in a pro-regime militia that operated in Idlib province.

The two officials said an increasing number arrests of mid-level former regime cadres in recent weeks has been made because of “local intelligence”, implying members of the Alawite minority to which Mr Al Assad belongs may have been co-operating with security forces.

Many Alawites and other minorities supported Mr Al Assad's regime against predominantly Sunni rebel groups. Syria's current President Ahmad Al Shara is also leader of HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda.

Mr Al Shara last month sent troops and militias to subdue Alawite coastal areas that formed the heartland of support for his predecessor. Sectarian bloodshed in the region ensued, culminating in the killing of at least 1,300 people, mostly Alawite civilians, in early March.