A former militia leader loyal to the Assad regime and two fighters from Syria’s new authorities were killed in clashes in western Homs, as the government imposed curfews to quell growing sectarian tensions.
The clashes erupted in the village of Balqasa, where “outlaw groups affiliated with [former President Bashar] al-Assad’s militias” attacked new military administration forces, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The assault left two fighters dead and ten injured. In response, Shujaa Al-Ali, a notorious militia leader implicated in kidnappings and murders along the Lebanese-Syrian border, was killed.
Al-Ali’s militia, reportedly armed with anti-personnel rockets, tanks, and artillery, had refused to surrender its heavy weapons or participate in the new authorities’ reconciliation process. The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel estimated his militia’s strength at 400 fighters.
Sectarian Tensions Rise
The violence follows weeks of unrest, with protests and clashes reported in Homs and Tartous, an Alawite stronghold. In Tartous, 14 police officers were killed during confrontations with regime loyalists.
Curfews were imposed in Homs and Jableh to contain the unrest, while Alawite leaders issued statements urging locals to disarm and avoid inflaming sectarian divisions.
Adding to the tensions, a video of rebel fighters burning an Alawite shrine in Aleppo surfaced, though it was later revealed to be weeks old. Shujaa Al-Ali had threatened retaliatory attacks against mosques before his death.
The Arab League expressed concern over the violence, accusing Iran—an ally of the former Assad regime—of inciting strife. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently predicted the rise of a “strong, honourable group” in Syria after Assad’s fall, drawing rebuke from Syria’s new government.
Arrests of Former Regime Figures
The new administration has launched operations to root out Assad loyalists. Arrests include Mohamed Kanjo Hassan, implicated in atrocities at the infamous Sednaya prison, and other prominent regime figures such as Fakhri Darwish and Khaled Zubaidi, close allies of the Assad family.
The military operations administration vowed to continue its campaign against remnants of the former regime, promising accountability for those who incited unrest or resisted reconciliation efforts.