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Western Syria clashes (December 2024–present)
Part of Syrian civil war and the Fall of al-Assad regime
Date 25 December 2024 – present (1 week and 5 days) Location Western Syria, primarily Alawite-majority communities Latakia Governorate Tartus Governorate Western Hama Governorate Western Homs Governorate Status Combing operations by Syrian government troops, marked resistance in Tartus countryside by pro-Assad holdouts
Belligerents
Syria Syrian Interim Government	Ba'athist Syrian insurgents

Following the fall of the Assad regime after several offensives launched by opposition groups between late-November to early-December 2024, several clashes between Assadian Ba'athist loyalists and incumbent Syrian National Coalition government forces have occurred primarily in hold-outs in the Alawite-majority Tartus and Latakia Governorates, as well as in western Hama and Homs Governorates.

The clashes were influenced by civil unrest in Alawite communities following an attack on the Abu Abdullah al-Hussein al-Khusseibi shrine in Aleppo, leading to several demonstrations in Western Syria against repression of Alawite religious heritage and identity.

Background

In December 2024, a swift military campaign led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction successfully overthrew the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, ending over five decades of Assad family rule in Syria. The offensive, originating in the country's northeastern region, resulted in Assad and his family seeking refuge in Russia. HTS emir and military commander Ahmad al-Sharaa emerged as Syria's de facto leader following the fall of Damascus, with the majority of Syrian Armed Forces troops surrendering, fleeing the country, or defecting.

Civil unrest

Escalating tensions were reported across Syria, particularly in regions with significant Alawite populations, with civil unrest emerging in multiple locations including Tartus, Latakia, and Qardaha. Demonstrations from the Alawite community occurred with the purpose of defending Alawite religious rights and in fear of potential retribution, due to many members being associated with the former regime's documented human rights violations.

Abu Abdullah al-Hussein al-Khusseibi shrine attack

On 25 December 2024, demonstrations in Syrian Alawite communities intensified in response to videos showing footage of armed men desecrating the Abu Abdullah al-Hussein al-Khusseibi shrine in Aleppo dedicated to the founder of Alawite branch, regarded as one of the branch's most venerated locations globally. The attackers killed five shrine custodians, desecrated their remains, vandalized the sacred site, and set fire to the structure.

The demonstrations erupted across multiple neighborhoods in Homs, including Al-Khudari, Wadi Al-Dhahab, Al-Zahraa, Al-Sabil, Al-Abbasiya, and Al-Muhajireen. Protesters expressed outrage over the shrine attack through sectarian chants and public demonstrations, with religious and community leaders denouncing it as an attack on Alawite religious heritage and identity while calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Protesters also demanded greater security be granted to the community by the government, and for it to remove all of the extremist and foreign elements from its military. Several protesters were arrested in Homs, Tartus, and Jableh. The Syrian General Security Forces, operating under the new government's Military Operations Department, opened fire to disperse the crowd in Homs, resulting in one protester's death and five others sustaining injuries from gunfire.

In response to rising tensions, the new government enhanced its security presence in Alawite-dominated regions. Public Security Forces implemented a curfew across Homs, Jableh, and Banias, while military reinforcements established security perimeters around the Akrama and Al-Nahda neighborhoods to stop further unrest. They also established military checkpoints for civilians to hand over their weapons, and set up loudspeakers in mosques instructing them to do so within 24 hours. Many, especially officers associated with the Assad regime, refused to do so.

Clashes

On 25 December, unidentified armed groups conducted synchronized assaults on multiple security checkpoints in the western Hama countryside with RPG launchers and heavy machine guns, killing one Syrian government troop and injuring another.

On the same day, the Syrian Military Operations Department conducted a major security operation combing through several Tartus Governorate villages and forests for regime loyalists and those involved with Assad regime-related crimes. Armed forces launched a raid in the village of Khirbet al-Ma'zah in the Tartus countryside, resulting in the arrest of Major General Mohammed Kanjo al-Hassan and twenty of his associates. Al-Hassan, who had served as Director of Judicial Administration and President of the Field Court, was notable for his role in authorizing numerous executions of detainees under the previous regime at the Sednaya Prison near Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The conflict resulted in fourteen interior ministry personnel losing their lives and ten others sustaining injuries during what officials described as an "ambush". Three gunmen associated with al-Hassan were also killed in the gun fight.

On 26 December, two armed individuals from the village of Al-Zarqat, identified as regime loyalists or "shabiha," were killed after engaging in armed conflict with General Security forces. The security campaign prompted many former regime officials implicated in crimes against Syrian civilians to flee from several villages, including Al-Zuraiqat, Khirbet al-Ma'zah, and surrounding areas. In addition, four Syrian government troops were killed during a raid on a pro-Assad holdout containing trafficking ringleader Shujaa al-Ali in Balqsa, western Homs Governorate.

Civilian casualties

On 25 December, a medical student was shot dead by an unknown gunman in Latakia. One civilian was found dead on the M4 Motorway in Ariha, Idlib, having been killed by a "field execution". Three more were killed by unknown gunmen in Tal Sarin, Hama.

On 26 December, an armed group raided the western Hama Governorate village of Al-Aziziyah located in the Ghab Plain, and executed a civilian before arresting eight others and taking them to an unknown location.

References

1. ^ "Syria says 14 security personnel killed in ambush by Assad loyalists". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
2. ^ السوري, المرصد (2024-12-25). "مقتل متظاهر وإصابة 5 آخرين في مدينة حمص.. وإدارة العمليات العسكرية تطوق أحياء في المدينة | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
3. السوري, المرصد (2024-12-25). "بعد مظاهرات عارمة.. قوى الأمن العام تفرض حظرا للتجوال في حمص وبانياس وجبلة | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
4. ^ "إدارة العمليات العسكرية تشن حملة تمشيط وتفتيش في قرى ريف طرطوس وسط هروب لعدد من المطلوبين واعتقال العشرات ومعلومات عن اعتقال "كنجو" | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). 2024-12-26. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
5. "بقواذف "الآر بي جي" والأسلحة الثقيلة.. مقـ ـتل وإصابة عنصرين من إدارة العمليات العسكرية بهـ ـجـ ـوم لمجموعات مسلحة على مواقع بريف حماة | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). 2024-12-25. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
6. ^ السوري, المرصد (2024-12-26). "تصفية "شبيح" ومقتل اثنين من المتورطين بقتل عناصر الأمن العام في الساحل السوري | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
7. السوري, المرصد (2024-12-25). "مقتل 6 عناصر من قوى الأمن العام باشتباكات مع عصابة أحد سفاحي "صيدنايا" في ريف طرطوس | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
8. السوري, المرصد (2024-12-26). "في مواجهات مع فلول النظام و"شجاع العلي".. مقتل 4 عناصر من إدارة العمليات العسكرية | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
9. السوري, المرصد (2024-12-25). "مقتل طالب في كلية "الطب البشري" في اللاذقية | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
10. السوري, المرصد (2024-12-25). "استمرارا للانفلات الأمني.. مقتل 5 مواطنين في حماة وإدلب | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.
11. السوري, المرصد (2024-12-26). "إعدام شاب بالرصاص واختطاف 8 آخرين.. مسلحون يداهمون بلدة العزيزية في سهل الغاب | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-27.

• Latakia Governorate in the Syrian civil war
• Tartus Governorate in the Syrian civil war
• Battles of the Syrian civil war in 2024
• Hama Governorate in the Syrian civil war
• Homs Governorate in the Syrian civil war
• December 2024 events in Syria
• Fall of the Assad regime