Journal De Bruxelles - 48 killed in 'most violent' Syria unrest since Assad ouster: monitor

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes in the coastal town of Jableh and adjacent villages were "the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled" in December.

Pro-Assad fighters killed 16 security personnel while 28 fighters "loyal" to ousted President Bashar al-Assad and four civilians were also killed, it said.

The fighting struck in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, the heartland of the ousted president's Alawite minority who were considered bastions of support during his rule.

Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, said that in "a well-planned and premeditated attack, several groups of Assad militia remnants attacked our positions and checkpoints, targeting many of our patrols in the Jableh area."

He added that the attacks resulted in "numerous martyrs and injured among our forces" but did not give a figure.

Kneifati said security forces would "work to eliminate their presence". "We will restore stability to the region and protect the property of our people," he declared.

- Top officer arrested -

The UK-based observatory said most of the security personnel killed were from the former rebel bastion of Idlib in the northwest.

During the operation, security forces captured and arrested a former head of air force intelligence, one of the Assad family's most trusted security agencies, state news agency SANA reported.

"Our forces in the city of Jableh managed to arrest the criminal General Ibrahim Huweija," SANA said.

"He is accused of hundreds of assassinations during the era of the criminal Hafez al-Assad," Bashar al-Assad's father and predecessor.

Huweija, who headed air force intelligence from 1987 to 2002, has long been a suspect in the 1977 murder of Lebanese Druze leader Kamal Bek Jumblatt.

His son and successor Walid Jumblatt retweeted the news of his arrest with the comment: "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)."

The provincial security director said security forces clashed with gunmen loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander in another village in Latakia, after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes.

"The armed groups that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail al-Hassan," the security director told SANA.

Nicknamed "The Tiger", Hassan led the country's special forces and was frequently described as Assad's "favourite soldier". He was responsible for key military advances by the Assad government in 2015.

- Helicopter strikes -

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported "strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighbouring village".

SANA reported that militias loyal to the ousted president had opened fire on "members and equipment of the defence ministry" near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.

Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that its photographer Riad al-Hussein was wounded in the clashes but that he was doing well.

A defence ministry source later told SANA that large military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area.

Alawite leaders later called in a statement on Facebook for "peaceful protests" in response to the helicopter strikes, which they said had targeted "the homes of civilians".

The security forces imposed overnight curfews on Alawite-populated areas, including Latakia, the port city of Tartus and third city Homs, SANA reported.

In other cities around the country, crowds gathered "in support of the security forces", it added.

Tensions erupted after residents of Beit Ana, the birthplace of Suhail al-Hassan, prevented security forces from arresting a person wanted for trading arms, the Observatory said.

Security forces subsequently launched a campaign in the area, resulting in clashes with gunmen, it added.

Tensions erupted after at least four civilians were killed during a security operation in Latakia, the monitor said on Wednesday.

Security forces launched the campaign in the Daatour neighbourhood of the city on Tuesday after an ambush by "members of the remnants of Assad militias" killed two security personnel, state media reported.

Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.

The country's new security forces have since carried out extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.

Residents and organisations have reported violations during those campaigns, including the seizing of homes, field executions and kidnappings.

Syria's new authorities have described the violations as "isolated incidents" and vowed to pursue those responsible.

S.Vandenberghe--JdB