Web Desk (MNN); Several people, including a security officer, were killed and dozens injured as violent demonstrations broke out in Syria’s coastal cities of Latakia, Tartous and Jableh, according to local officials and media reports.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Latakia and Tartous, calling for the release of detainees linked to the armed forces of former president Bashar al-Assad and demanding their reinstatement to government jobs. Demonstrations were also reported in Jableh and Baniyas, where tensions quickly escalated.
An Al Jazeera correspondent confirmed that gunfire was directed at Syrian security forces at Latakia’s Azhari roundabout. In Tartous, two security personnel were wounded after unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at the al-Anaza police station in Baniyas.
Syrian authorities denied opening fire on demonstrators, stating instead that security forces intervened to contain the situation and restore order. However, clashes intensified when pro-government demonstrators confronted protesters, and masked gunmen reportedly opened fire on security personnel. A security officer was among those killed, while dozens of civilians and security members sustained injuries.
Protests were largely led by members of the Alawite community, who took to the streets in central and coastal regions following a call by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite leader living abroad. He urged demonstrations against alleged killings, discrimination, and the continued detention of Alawite community members.
Protesters demanded the implementation of federalism and decentralisation, along with the immediate release of detainees from their community. The Defence Ministry’s media office said army units entered the centres of Latakia and Tartous with tanks and armoured vehicles in an effort to calm the unrest.
According to the head of internal security in Latakia, Brigadier General Abdul Aziz al-Ahmad, masked and armed individuals affiliated with the so-called Coastal Shield Brigades and Al-Jawad Brigades were present during the protests. He alleged that these groups were previously involved in attacks, field executions, and bombings along the M1 highway.
Reuters reporters at the scene said gunshots were heard from unidentified locations nearly two hours after the protests began, after which security forces fired warning shots into the air. The situation quickly turned chaotic, with demonstrators carrying wounded people away on foot.
A statement from the Latakia governorate’s media office said three people were killed and more than 40 wounded during the unrest, without clarifying whether all casualties occurred in Latakia or across multiple cities. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that one government security member was killed by gunfire from what it described as armed remnants of the former regime.
The violence came just two days after a deadly bombing targeted an Alawite mosque in the central city of Homs. Preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque, though authorities have yet to publicly identify any suspects. Eight people were killed and around 18 wounded in the attack, with funerals held on Saturday.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing in a statement posted on Telegram, saying the attack targeted members of the Alawite sect. Government officials strongly condemned the attack and vowed to hold those responsible accountable, but no arrests have been announced so far.
