Heavy fighting erupted along the northern Syrian coast today, with at least 16 troops loyal to the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government reported killed in clashes around the Alawite heartland of Jableh.
Details are still emerging, but the Syrian Defense Ministry is claiming that the militias it’s fighting against are a “remnant” of ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. HTS took over Syria in December, forcing Assad to flee into exile.
The Assad remnants claim is linked to the idea that they’re loyal to Maj. Gen. Suhayl al-Hassan, who was the commander of Syria’s special forces during the civil war. Hassan is also an Alawite, and he is believed to be in the part of Latakia Governorate he was from, which is also where this fighting is happening.
Syria has been launching crackdowns on the Alawites in the northwest for months since taking power and has often presented them as being in league with Assad, who was also an Alawite. This has led to a lot of sectarian tensions and even violence, though Alawites are quick to point out not all of them were part of the former government, and many were treated as badly by Assad and his allies as everyone else in Syria was.
Alawites make up roughly 10% of Syria’s population and are a Shi’ite-connected religious sect. The crackdowns by the HTS have led a number of Shi’ites and Alawites to flee into neighboring Lebanon, though that only seems a practical option for those who live in the towns and villages immediately along the border.
The militias around Jableh appear to have started organizing operations together and hit HTS security forces in the area. The HTS is reportedly planning to deploy reinforcements into the area, so more fighting is likely.
Jableh isn’t the only area where sectarian fighting is ongoing, either. Another clash was reported much further south in Daraa Governorate, where troops were searching for weapons in the city of Sanamein and got into fights with people in the area who they similarly accused of being remnants. Three people were killed, and three others were wounded.
The identities of the slain in Daraa have yet to be confirmed, but it adds to the reality of this being a more than regional conflict in a couple of cities. Further adding to the issue in Daraa is that Israel has recently forbidden Syrian military forces from operating in the governorate at all, and has threatened military action if they are present there.
