Security forces for Syria’s new government were pursuing at least one senior official and military forces loyal to the former dictatorship on Thursday, as they struggled to tamp down unrest in a number of regions and stabilize the country.
Government forces have been searching for Mohammed Kanjou al-Hassan, a former senior official in charge of military justice under ousted President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Britain-based war monitoring group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He is accused of involvement in atrocities against Syrian civilians, according to rights activists.
An attempt to arrest Mr. al-Hassan on Wednesday set off deadly clashes in the region around Tartus — part of the heartland of Mr. al-Assad’s Alawite minority. Government security forces were ambushed by loyalists of the old regime in the area of Mr. al-Hassan’s home, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Fourteen members of the government security forces were killed, according to Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Syria’s interim interior minister.
The hunt for Mr. al-Hassan suggested that Syria’s new rulers were stepping up their efforts to pursue top members of the Assad dictatorship amid a clamor in the country for justice and accountability. A central challenge for Syria’s new administration is to impose law and order while it attempts to hold members of the Assad regime accountable and build a system of governance.The government forces deployed on Thursday in Mr. al-Hassan’s hometown, near the port of Tartus in western Syria. Sana, the state-run Syrian news agency, said the forces were sent to the area to pursue “remnants of Assad militias, protect civilians and restore security and stability.”
Mr. al-Hassan was responsible for crimes at Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory. In 2023, Britain sanctioned Mr. al-Hassan for “his involvement in repressing the civilian population in Syria,” according to an official record that listed targets of U.K. sanctions.
During the past week, members of the minority Alawite sect have protested in cities like Latakia in the west and Homs in central Syria. A video posted online of an Alawite shrine set alight appeared to play a role in sparking the protests, but officials in Syria’s transitional government have said it was old and republished on Wednesday.
Ahmad al-Shara, the rebel leader who led the offensive that overthrew the Assad government, has said minorities will be protected. But many Syrian Alawites, Christians, and Kurds have expressed worries about whether their communities will be safe.
On Thursday, the interim ministry of information said it was banning publishing content with “a sectarian character that seeks to spread division.”
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