Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from the News Desk at The Cradle, December 26, 2024
The ambush was reportedly carried out by former elements of the Syrian Arab Army, coming during an eruption of sectarian tensions across Syria
Clashes raged in Syria on 26 December between the remnants of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the currently-ruling Hayat Tahrir-Sham (HTS) extremist group several hours after over a dozen HTS militants were killed in the western Tartous governorate.
🇸🇾 Intense clashes rage into their second day in Tartus, Syria, between Syrian Arab Army resistance cells and forces loyal to the new government.
Footage captured by a local woman from her home offers a close-up view of the chaos, showing militants exchanging fire directly below… pic.twitter.com/jtsokMHdqO
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) December 26, 2024
Violent armed clashes were recorded by citizens in Tartous on Thursday. Video footage also showed positions of the SAA’s 25th Division stationed in the Latakia mountains in western Syria.
🇸🇾 SAA Refuses to Surrender to HTS
A newly released video from the 25th Special Forces Division, also known as the “Tiger Forces,” shows resistance fighters in the mountainous areas of Latakia. In the video, they pledge to continue their fight against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)… pic.twitter.com/lJ0EdsjnXo
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) December 26, 2024
HTS-led authorities announced on Thursday that they confiscated weapons belonging to former government soldiers in the Damascus countryside. HTS’s Military Operations Administration has launched a security operation to confiscate SAA weapons and arrest “those who incite” sedition, according to a source from Syria’s new Ministry of Interior cited by Al-Watan newspaper.
Fourteen HTS militants and three armed men were killed in combat on the evening of 25 December in Tartous, in what was initially reported as an ambush by former government loyalists and soldiers.
Syria’s Interior Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman confirmed on Thursday the killing of 14 HTS security personnel and the injury of 10 others carried out by “remnants of the former regime.”
According to UK-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the HTS militants were killed while trying to arrest an officer linked to the former government-run Sednaya prison – where thousands of prisoners were released after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government on 8 December.
The incident came as unrest quickly spread across Syria in the past 24 hours after protests by Alawite citizens erupted across the country due to the emergence of a video showing the burning and desecration of an Alawite shrine by extremist militants.
BREAKING | Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) authorities shoot at peaceful protesters in Homs, Jableh, Tartous and Latakia demonstrating against extremist sectarian attacks on Alawite symbols and sites. Injuries and deaths have been reported across several areas. A 6 pm – 8 am curfew… pic.twitter.com/VzJ3zYyrWV
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) December 25, 2024
Some reports said the undated video is new, while others said it dates back to the start of the 11-day offensive that began late last month and resulted in the collapse of the Assad government.
Militants in Aleppo have burned the resting place and shrine of “al-Hassan bin Hamdan al-Khasibi (قدس)”, who is considered to be one of the most important figures in the Alawite sect and executed several people sheltering there accusing them of being SAA pic.twitter.com/H5PbrqD7Db
— Hassan Ridha (@sayed_ridha) December 25, 2024
The video shows the resting place of Hassan bin Hamdan al-Khusaibi, a highly revered Alawite figure, on fire. The militants reportedly killed several people present inside the shrine. Their bodies can be seen in the footage.
Protests also stemmed from the killing of five Alawite judges in the Hama countryside on 24 December. Syrian Christians have been protesting as well, triggered mainly by the burning of a Christmas tree in Hama days ago by foreign militants under HTS’s command.
A curfew was imposed by authorities in Homs in response to the Alawite demonstrations, in which protestors were reportedly attacked by security forces of the new government, causing deaths and injuries.
🇸🇾 🎥 Shooting by Jolani’s Elements at Alawite and Christian Homes
Clashes between terrorist groups and locals near Tartus, Syria, have reportedly left 9 dead. In Khirbet al-Maazza, villagers resisted the terrorists, firing back to defend their homes and communities.#Syria pic.twitter.com/pAuJlv0dpP
— Haidar Al-Karrar (@HaidarAkarar) December 26, 2024
Clashes between locals and HTS-led authorities have left around nine dead. Alawite demonstrators have been detained and humiliated on camera.
المكان الطبيعي والطريقة الوحيدة التي يمكن التفاهم فيها مع قرود الجبل#الطائفة_العلوية الوسخة
خنازيرها الجبناء بعد دعسهم من مجاهدي الشام الأسود#حمص_العدية #طرطوس #اللاذقية pic.twitter.com/ZLOpDETssb— Ibrahim Farruh (@FalconShami) December 25, 2024
