Syria Undergoes Security Crises as Sectarian Clashes Erupt

(MENAFN) Syria confronted multiple security crises Tuesday as sectarian violence in central Homs province, widespread coastal demonstrations, and counterterrorism raids in northern Aleppo exposed the nation's precarious post-conflict stabilization efforts.

Unrest intensified following the previous week's fatal shooting of a Sunni Bedouin couple in Homs—an attack officials characterized as a deliberate attempt to inflame communal tensions. Subsequent revenge assaults targeting Alawite-dominated areas forced authorities to impose a nightly 12-hour curfew while deploying additional security forces.

The violence triggered unprecedented Alawite-organized demonstrations throughout Syria's coastal territories Tuesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring organization, documented mass rallies involving tens of thousands of participants across no fewer than 42 sites, with protesters condemning sectarian incitement.

The war monitoring group additionally documented sporadic disturbances, including an attempted vandalism of a statue in Tartous and a firearms incident in Latakia that critically wounded one individual.

Interior authorities spokesperson Noureddin al-Baba, speaking to state broadcaster al-Ikhbaria TV, affirmed citizens' demonstration rights while cautioning against divisive manipulation. "We advise our people not to be drawn into agendas promoted by groups outside the country," he said.

In an unrelated operation, interior authorities announced Tuesday that security personnel successfully neutralized an Islamic State (IS) network operating in Afrin, a district in northwestern Aleppo. The raid resulted in multiple arrests of IS-linked operatives, along with confiscation of firearms and explosive manufacturing equipment.

State media outlets reported Tuesday that gunmen assaulted a security checkpoint in western Sweida province, killing one officer and wounding two additional personnel. Authorities have launched an investigation into the assault.

The concurrent incidents illuminate the multifaceted security challenges confronting Syria during its current political transformation period.

Syria's civil war began in 2011. Last December, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's current interim leader, assumed control after ousting Bashar al-Assad, the nation's former president.

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