DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities launched a security sweep in the city of Latakia on Tuesday, residents said, after two members of their forces were killed in an attack blamed by state media on remnants of Bashar al-Assad’s ousted government.

Bursts of gunfire were heard through the night as government security forces deployed in the Datour district of Latakia, part of the coastal region where Assad had drawn support from the Alawi community to which his family belongs. The coastal region has emerged as one of the main security challenges for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new administration, which has deployed many of its forces into the area since Assad was deposed in December.

A senior security official in the area said there had been an increase in hit-and-run attacks on security patrols and checkpoints in several towns in Latakia province over the last two weeks, blamed on former army personnel in hiding.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025