Security deployments in coastal region aimed at 'restoring calm', say Syrian authorities

Rights monitor says security forces targeted civilians and allowed attacks on protesters

Syrian Security forces deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the coastal city of Latakia. EPA

Syrian authorities said on Monday that security deployments in the country’s coastal region were aimed at “restoring calm”, but critics have accused these forces of suppressing anti-government demonstrations.

Latakia governor Mohammad Othman said the security situation in the governorate was now “stable”, after clashes in several areas were contained and additional patrols deployed to “restore calm”.

He told state media that “most protests ended without major incidents” but accused “wanted individuals linked to remnants of the former regime and external agendas” of attempting to divert protesters’ demands and attack security personnel.

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Those incidents, he said, resulted in the deaths of one security officer and two civilians, and injuries among both security forces and civilians.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nour Al Din Al Baba echoed that account, saying attacks by “remnants of the former regime” on demonstrators and security forces in Latakia and Tartus exposed their “true nature”. He stated that internal security forces were acting with “restraint” and that firearms were only used to confront armed attacks.

However, rights monitors and activists disputed the official version of events.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights accused security forces of killing two people while dispersing the protests. It said security forces had blocked roads leading into cities early in the day and accused them of tolerating attacks on demonstrators by pro-government groups, while intervening against protesters themselves.

Witnesses cited by SOHR said that gunfire was heard at several locations in Latakia, including the central Al Azhari roundabout, and accused security forces of allowing counterdemonstrators to attack protesters with stones and sticks.

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The protests erupted after a bombing at an Alawite mosque in the central city of Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 others during prayers. A group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al Sunna claimed responsibility, saying it had targeted members of the Alawite sect.

Tensions in Syria’s coastal region have remained high since the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad in December 2024. Alawites, who were heavily represented in the former regime’s security and state institutions, say they have since faced discrimination, arbitrary detentions and sporadic sectarian attacks.

Calls for decentralisation and federalism have grown among minority communities, including Alawites, Kurds and Druze, posing a continuing challenge for President Ahmad Al Shara’s government as it seeks to consolidate control and prevent further unrest.

One of the main challenges is implementing an agreement signed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces leader Mazloum Abdi and Mr Al Shara for Kurdish integration into the central military and civilian authorities by the end of Wednesday.

Mr Abdi and a negotiating delegation were scheduled to travel to Damascus on Monday. However, the SDF said the visit has been postponed “due to technical reasons”.

“A new date will be determined at a later time through mutual agreement among the concerned parties. This postponement is related to logistical and technical arrangements for the visit and does not reflect any change in the course of communication or the objectives under discussion,” said the group.

Damascus has warned that the failure to implement the agreement will lead to serious consequences in the Kurdish-controlled areas.