Tension continues in coastal, interior Syrian cities, towns

The unrest follows Tuesday’s protests, which spread across more than 42 locations in both the coastal region and the Syrian interior.

Since the early hours of dawn today, normal movement has largely disappeared in areas of the coast and inland Syria amid fears of further escalation, as the transitional government intensified its deployment of forces and checkpoints throughout the cities’ strategic points, alongside increased patrols.

Reporters from ANHA agency stated that, late on Tuesday night and into Wednesday, groups loyal to the transitional government stormed neighborhoods in Latakia, while similar groups roamed the streets of Jableh and Tartous, chanting sectarian slogans and attacking commercial shops and civilian homes, frightening residents and causing damage to cars and other property.

In Homs, armed groups raided the Akrama neighborhood, ordering shop owners to close their businesses and directing sectarian insults at the locals.

The violations also included home raids targeting young men who participated in the sit-in in the town of Al-Annazah in rural Tartous, with some of them arrested. Meanwhile, the so-called “Mufti of Azaz City” issued threatening statements against Alawites, accusing “the protesters of shooting at his children.”

Pro-government media activists also circulated video footage showing armored vehicles, personnel carriers, and heavy weapons, including rocket launchers, claiming they were headed toward the Syrian coast, though no information was available on where the footage was recorded or their final deployment locations.

In a related development, the Syrian Alawite Association in Europe issued a statement condemning “the assaults committed by the transitional authority and shabiha (thug) groups against peaceful demonstrators,” describing the events as “a documented crime and a dangerous descent that recreates the worst forms of repression Syrians experienced for decades.”

The association affirmed that “every document, photo, video, and testimony will be sent to the relevant international bodies,” calling for the immediate legal prosecution of “anyone who appeared armed, fired shots, or took part in the assaults,” and warning the authorities against “complicity or turning a blind eye to these crimes.”

The statement emphasized the right of Syrians to peaceful expression, stressing that “protecting civilians is a direct responsibility of the transitional authority, and that the continuation of such repressive practices threatens civil peace and undermines trust in promises of change.”

A-H 

ANHA