At least 13 members of the Syrian security forces lost their lives on Thursday during shootouts with activists linked to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to Syrian media reports.
This attack represents one of the most severe episodes of violence that the new regime of Ahmed al-Sharaa has faced since Assad's fall in December, and it seems to be the beginning of a new civil war in the country.
Syrian television, aligned with the new administration in Damascus, reported that the clashes were still unfolding in the Jableh region, part of the coastal area that is the core of the Alawite sect, to which the Assad family belongs.
A new group called "The Military Council for the Freedom of Syria," led by Ghaith Suleiman Dala, former commander of the 4th Armored Division of the former Syrian Arab Army, released a statement announcing the start of operations against the al-Sharaa regime, with the goal of overthrowing it.
In a video circulated on social media, pro-Assad rebels can be seen taking control of a major Syrian highway that runs along the country's coast. What appears to be their commander says to the camera that "this mission has been planned for two months."
This coastal region has become one of the biggest security challenges for Ahmed al-Sharaa, as his government attempts to consolidate its control over the country after more than a decade of civil war.
