ALBAWABA- Dozens of people, including security personnel, were injured in clashes that erupted in Syria’s coastal cities of Latakia and Jableh following demonstrations called by Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, the head of the Supreme Islamic Alawite Council and the highest spiritual authority of the Alawite sect.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets under the slogan “self-determination,” demanding the release of detainees and expressing support for Ghazal. The demonstrations followed a deadly bombing of a mosque in Homs that killed eight people, intensifying fears of renewed instability along the Syrian coast.
The Interior Ministry said several security personnel were wounded after attacks by “remnants of the former Assad regime” in Latakia and Jableh.
Latakia’s internal security commander, Brigadier General Abdulaziz al-Ahmad, stated that masked and armed men affiliated with groups known as Saraya al-Sahel and Saraya al-Jawad were observed during the protests, firing into the air and attacking security forces. Vehicles belonging to police and special forces were also damaged, he added.
Clashes also broke out between rival demonstrations in Latakia, one backing Ghazal and another supporting the Syrian government, prompting security forces to erect human barriers and deploy heavily to prevent escalation.
In Tartus province, local leaders in the Qadmus area rejected calls for secession or federal division, stressing Syria’s territorial unity. Ghazal, meanwhile, called for peaceful sit-ins and mass mobilization, describing the protests as a “peaceful human flood” filling public squares.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence reflects deepening sectarian tensions following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Alawite communities have protested alleged arrests, property seizures, and forced displacement, grievances that have fueled unrest since late 2025.
The clashes revive memories of deadly confrontations along the coast last March, when fighting between security forces and former-regime elements was accompanied by abuses against civilians. Damascus has said investigations were launched and dozens of suspects arrested.
