Clashes between an armed group in Tartus , Syria and ruling HTS forces resulted in several casualties
Violent clashes erupted Wednesday between local armed residents and security personnel from the military coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in northwestern Syria’s Tartus province, a Britain-based war monitor reported.
The fighting started in the village of Kharbet al-Ma’zza when locals opposed home inspections by the security forces, prompting armed residents to set fire to a vehicle belonging to the HTS, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
There were casualties on both sides, it said, adding that the military coalition dispatched reinforcements, including a specialized division and ambulances, as clashes continued.
A large convoy comprising fighters from Unit 82, K9 squads of the military coalition headed to the region near the Latakia province, it said, adding that Syria’s new authorities aim to apprehend the armed locals they describe as “remnants of the previous regime” and to prevent any sectarian unrest in the demographically diverse area.
The military coalition took control over capital Damascus and most parts of Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government on Dec. 8
This development comes a day after Syria’s new authorities announced that they had reached an agreement with the country’s rebel groups on their dissolution and integration into the regular defense forces.
“A meeting of the heads of the groups” with new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa “ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence“, said a statement carried by state media agency SANA and the authorities’ Telegram account.
No details of the armed groups were provided.
Xinhua/ Elnashra