After days of mass killings, Syrian defense ministry says operation against Assad loyalists is over

Syria’s defense ministry announces the end of a major security operation in coastal provinces, after days of violence and mass killings that sparked international concern.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said nearly 1,500 people have died in the violence since Thursday, the majority of them civilians killed by security forces and allied groups in the heartland of the Alawite minority to which deposed president Bashar al-Assad belongs.

In a statement on official news agency SANA, defense ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani says security forces have neutralized security threats and “regime remnants” in Latakia and Tartus provinces on the Mediterranean coast.

“Having achieved this, we announce the end of the military operation,” Abdul Ghani says.

He hails “the success of our forces… in achieving all the objectives set” for the operation.

“We were able… to absorb the attacks of the remnants of the toppled regime and its officers” and push them from “vital” locations, Abdul Ghani says.

Clashes broke out last week between the security forces and gunmen loyal to Assad, with the Observatory reporting 231 security personnel and 250 pro-Assad fighters killed.

Including at least 973 civilians, many of them Alawites, killed by the security forces and allied forces, the overall death toll according to the Observatory reached 1,454.

Abdul Ghani says that “the security apparatuses will work in the upcoming phase to consolidate our work to ensure stability and preserve residents’ safety and security.”

He also points to “new plans to continue fighting the remnants of the toppled regime and work on eliminating any future threats”.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group led the offensive that toppled Assad in December, has vowed to “hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who was involved in the bloodshed of civilians.”

“There will be no one above the law and anyone whose hands have been stained with the blood of Syrians will face justice sooner or later,” he said.