By Adam Rasgone
The newly formed administration in Syria has intensified its efforts to locate and apprehend individuals associated with the ousted Assad regime, indicating its intent to respond forcefully against those it perceives as threats to its establishment of law and order.
Sana, the state-controlled Syrian news outlet, announced on Saturday that “several remnants of the Assad militias” had been detained in the coastal area of Latakia in western Syria. The report also mentioned the seizure of weapons and ammunition.
Since a coalition of rebels deposed President Bashar Assad three weeks ago, the new administration has sought to assert dominance over Syria, emphasizing that tracking down loyalists of the Assad regime who are challenging its authority is of utmost importance.
However, a human rights group has sounded alarms regarding the transitional government’s approach to targeting Assad supporters, alleging that arbitrary detentions of individuals linked to the previous government are being conducted.
In recent days, Sana has also indicated that government security forces were pursuing Assad regime affiliates in the Tartus, Homs, and Hama regions.
On Wednesday, an operation to arrest Mohammed Kanjou al-Hassan, the former head of military justice under Assad, triggered fatal clashes in the Tartus area — a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect. As per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitoring organization, security forces encountered ambushes from loyalists of the previous regime in the region.
According to Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Syria’s interim interior minister, fourteen members of the government forces lost their lives during the incident.
While some accounts suggest that al-Hassan was subsequently captured, officials from Syria’s transitional government had not verified this as of Saturday, leaving his status unclear.
The media division of Syria’s interim Interior Ministry disclosed that security forces were pursuing Assad regime affiliates “to secure” the nation’s territory, implying that they posed a threat to the security landscape. It noted that this campaign was initiated only after former government loyalists failed “to surrender their weapons and resolve their issues” within an established deadline.
On Saturday, authorities in Lebanon returned 70 Syrian officers and soldiers who previously served in Assad’s military after they entered Lebanon illegally on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory.
An official from the new Syrian government confirmed that Lebanon had sent back military personnel affiliated with the ousted regime to Syria, although no specific numbers were given.
Former Syrian officials and military personnel have fled to neighboring Lebanon and Iraq in hopes of evading arrest or vengeance.
Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, reported that he was receiving information from his organization’s activists indicating that government security forces were conducting indiscriminate arrests of Assad’s regime supporters while largely not pursuing senior military figures.
“We require transitional justice, not retribution,” he articulated in a phone interview on Saturday. “The new Syria should stand for justice, democracy, equality, and rule of law.”
The media office for the Interior Ministry countered Abdulrahman’s statements, insisting that security forces were not arresting supporters of Assad’s regime, but rather armed loyalists from the previous government who had executed assaults against the new administration, along with their accomplices.
According to Abdulrahman, the new authorities ought to release a list of those suspected of committing war crimes against Syrians and engage with families in localities to apprehend them, subsequently ensuring they receive a fair trial.
The new governance is under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that governed portions of northwestern Syria prior to the downfall of Assad.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has aimed to reassure Syria’s minority groups, including Alawites, Christians, and Druze. Nonetheless, some individuals from those communities have expressed concerns about potential persecution.
Abdulrahman remarked that Syria’s new leaders possess a unique chance to construct a state that benefits its citizens.
“We desire for the people of Syria to hold a renewed perception of their country,” he stated. “We aim to avoid repeating the missteps of the criminal Bashar al-Assad administration.”
