Push comes as Syria’s new de facto chief Ahmed al-Sharaa met Bahraini, Libyan delegations in Damascus.
Syria’s new administration is finishing up a safety crackdown in opposition to what it has described as “remnants” of former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, with operations beneath manner in a number of elements of the nation.
The official Syrian information company SANA reported on Saturday that authorities had been conducting “a large-scale sweep operation” close to the town of Latakia on Syria’s northwestern coast.
The push — in an space the place al-Assad loved help from the Alawite group — got here in response to “reviews about [the] presence of parts linked to remnants of Assad’s militias”, SANA mentioned in a publish shared on social media.
Reporting from the capital Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra defined that the brand new administration mentioned it’s not focusing on the Alawite group, from which al-Assad hailed.
As a substitute, the authorities mentioned the safety operation has targeted on troopers and Syrian military officers related to al-Assad and his brother, Maher al-Assad, a robust former army commander.
“They are saying that [they’ve] issued an ultimatum to these individuals handy over weapons to the brand new administration,” Ahelbarra reported, including that operations additionally had been being carried out in Homs, Aleppo and on the outskirts of Damascus.
The push comes days after 14 police officers were killed in what the authorities mentioned was an “ambush” by forces loyal to al-Assad within the Tartous governorate, one other space on Syria’s western coast.
Inside Minister Mohammed Abdul Rahman had promised on Thursday to crack down on “anybody who dares to undermine Syria’s safety or endanger the lives of its residents”.
Syrian opposition teams led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took management of the nation earlier this month after a fast offensive that ousted al-Assad after greater than 20 years in energy.
A political transition is beneath manner, with Syria’s new de facto chief Ahmed al-Sharaa – who headed HTS and beforehand had ties to al-Qaeda – holding talks with a variety of Arab and Western diplomats in current days.
A number of nations have urged al-Sharaa to make sure that non secular and ethnic minorities can be protected amid some recent tensions and fears that any unrest may negatively have an effect on Syria and the broader area.
“What occurs subsequent in Syria won’t solely have an effect on the Syrians themselves, nevertheless it may unfold past the nation,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Ahelbarra. “This is the reason persons are involved about what occurs subsequent.”
Al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, met with a Bahraini delegation in Damascus on Saturday, in addition to with a senior official from Libya’s United Nations-recognised authorities.
“We expressed our full help for the Syrian authorities within the success of the necessary transitional section,” Libyan Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs Walid Ellafi advised reporters after the assembly.
“We emphasised the significance of coordination and cooperation … notably on safety and army points,” Ellafi mentioned, whereas the pair additionally mentioned cooperation “associated to vitality and commerce” and “unlawful immigration”.
In the meantime, Lebanese officers and a battle monitor mentioned Lebanon expelled roughly 70 Syrian officers and troopers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the nation illegally through casual routes.
Many senior Syrian officers and other people near the al-Assad household fled the nation to neighbouring Lebanon after al-Assad was toppled on December 8.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based monitor, mentioned Syrian army personnel of assorted ranks had been despatched again through Lebanon’s northern Arida crossing.
SOHR and a Lebanese safety official advised the Reuters information company that the returnees had been detained by the brand new Syrian authorities after crossing the border.
