New Syrian forces conduct operation targeting two Homs districts

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Jan 2025 17:22
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A monitoring group says the operation targeted two districts predominantly inhabited by the Alawite minority, the sect of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

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Fighters affiliated with Syria's new administration take part in an operation to track down members of ousted president Bashar al-Assad's forces in the central city of Homs on January 2, 2025. (SANA via AFP)

Syrian security forces have launched a large-scale operation in Homs city, according to state media reports on Thursday.

A monitoring group stated that the operation targeted two districts predominantly inhabited by the Alawite minority, the sect of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

"The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Military Operations Department, begins a wide-scale combing operation in the neighborhoods of Homs city," the state-run news agency SANA quoted a security official as saying.

The operation, as reported by SANA, is aimed at targeting "war criminals and those involved in crimes who refused to hand over their weapons and go to the settlement centers" and uncovering "hidden ammunition and weapons."

The agency later cited a military official who disclosed that authorities had been alerted weeks ago about the presence of “remnants of Assad’s militias” in certain areas of Homs.

Following al-Assad’s overthrow by Islamist-led groups last month, the transitional government has been urging former conscripts and soldiers to register and surrender their arms.

SANA said that troops and armored units have been deployed in Homs to track down "those who refuse to settle their affairs and hand over weapons" in Homs.

Authorities have also imposed a curfew in specific areas of the city.

"The Ministry of Interior calls on the residents of the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Dhahab (and) Akrama not to go out to the streets, remain home, and fully cooperate with our forces," the agency said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Dhahab and Akrama are predominantly Alawite, the sect to which al-Assad belongs.

He said that the ongoing operation is focused on locating former Assad loyalist forces and "those who organized or participated in the Alawite demonstrations last week, which the administration considered as incitement against" its authority.

The operation follows protests on December 25 in several areas of Syria after a video surfaced showing an attack on an Alawite shrine in the country’s north. The Interior Ministry claimed it was "old and dates to the time of the liberation" of Aleppo in December.