Syrian operation against Assad loyalists is over, says defence ministry

Dubai — A Syrian military operation against loyalists of ousted former president Bashar al-Assad has been completed, the defence ministry said on Monday.

Clashes between Assad loyalists and the country’s new Islamist rulers in the former president’s coastal heartland have killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, according to a war monitoring group.

Hassan Abdul Ghany, the defence ministry spokesperson, said in a statement on X that public institutions were now able to resume their work and provide essential services.

“We are paving the way for life to return to normal and for the consolidation of security and stability,” Abdul Ghany said.

He added that plans were in place to continue combating the remnants of the former government and eliminate any future threats.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed on Sunday to hunt down the perpetrators of the violent clashes and said he would hold to account anyone who overstepped the new rulers’ authority.

Al-Sharaa’s office also said it was forming an independent committee to investigate the clashes and killings carried out by both sides.

Abdul Ghany added that the security forces would co-operate with the investigation committee, offering full access to uncover the circumstances of the events, verify the facts and ensure justice for the wronged.

“We were able to absorb the attacks from the remnants of the former regime and its officers. We shattered their element of surprise and managed to push them away from vital centres, securing most of the main roads,” he said.

Though relative calm followed Assad’s ousting in December, violence has escalated in recent days as forces linked to the new Islamist rulers began cracking down on a growing insurgency from the minority Alawite sect.

The fighting spiralled into revenge killings against Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that is the faith of some of Assad’s most ardent supporters and became associated with Assad’s wartime atrocities against Syria’s mostly Sunni Muslim population.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory reported that more than 1,000 people were killed during two days of fighting, including 745 civilians, 125 members of the Syrian security forces and 148 fighters loyal to Assad.

Assad fled to Russia last year after rebels led by Sharaa’s Sunni Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group toppled his government, ending decades of severe repression and a devastating civil war. 

Reuters