Mass arrests Follow protests in Syria’s Coastal, Interior regions

ANHA correspondent from the Syrian coast reported today that the Syrian transitional government forces carried out a wide arrest campaign in western Hama countryside, including the Masyaf area, targeting those who took part in peaceful popular protests yesterday.

He explained that the arrests included the villages of Blilin, Huwayr, and Salib, where forces detained many young people and participants in the peaceful demonstrations.

He added that arrests have also begun in the city of Latakia, focusing on neighborhoods with an Alawite majority, and targeting participants in the peaceful protests that took place yesterday. These arrests were carried out by factions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian transitional government. He noted that the entire area is witnessing a high level of alert, with reinforced checkpoints in the areas of Mardash, Nahr al-Bared, and al-Kurum.

Also in Latakia, armed men attacked and vandalized the property of Alawite citizens in neighborhoods with an Alawite majority, while chanting sectarian slogans. These armed individuals were carrying bladed weapons and assaulted some passersby, injuring several of them, some critically.

Yesterday, the coastal regions and interior areas of Syria witnessed large-scale popular protests by members of the Alawite community, following a call by Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the diaspora. The protests denounced the violence and crimes committed against them and called for living with dignity within a decentralized federal state.

ANHA