BEIRUT – A security crackdown in Syria’s coastal city of Latakia has resulted in the deaths of four civilians following a deadly assault on security personnel, a war monitor reported today. Latakia province, once a stronghold of former president Bashar al-Assad and the heartland of his Alawite minority, witnessed intensified military operations in the city’s Daatur district. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, two school guards were killed yesterday, followed by two construction workers today.
State media reported that security forces launched the operation after “militia remnants” loyal to Assad ambushed and killed two security personnel. Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in the province, stated that the suspects resisted arrest, throwing explosives at patrol units and injuring several officers. “Our forces responded swiftly, managing to arrest several individuals and neutralize others,” he said via the interior ministry’s Telegram channel.
Following multiple arrests, the observatory reported that “a cautious calm” has returned to the Daatur district. Since Assad was overthrown on Dec 8, Syria’s new authorities have struggled to maintain stability, with Latakia experiencing violent reprisals against those linked to the former regime. While tensions have somewhat eased, sporadic attacks on checkpoints continue to disrupt the fragile security situation.