Neti laugh
© UnknownIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Any lingering delusions that Syria could emerge from its Western-imposed, regime-change victimhood and enter an era of peace and stability were obliterated on Thursday, as 48 people were killed in battles between supporters of the deposed Bashar al Assad government and the country's new radical Islamist regime. As all-out civil war looms, increasingly disturbing sectarian violence has an important minority sect asking for Russian intervention to safeguard their lives.

In the town of Jableh, which lies in Syria's coastal Latakia province, pro-Assad forces ambushed and killed 16 members of the regime's security forces. In the ensuing retaliation, 28 pro-Assad militants and four civilians died, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Latakia hold the highest concentration of Alawites -- the minority sect of Islam that's principally found in Syria, with the Assad family themselves being the most prominent members. Alawites comprise about 10% of the country's population. Notably, the province is also home to the Russian-operated Khmeimim air base. The ambush targeted regime forces who'd carried an operation in rural Latakia aimed at arresting a former Assad government official.
Map syria
© UnknownThursday's battles took place in Syria's coastal Latakia province, which holds the greatest concentration of Alawites.
The ambush was well-executed, according to a security official in Latakia. "[In] a well-planned and premeditated attack, several groups of Assad militia remnants attacked our positions and checkpoints, targeting many of our patrols in the Jableh area," Mustafa Kneifati told German news outlet DW. Those pro-Assad forces are said to have included soldiers loyal to former Syrian army General Suheil al-Hassan, though it's unknown whether Hassan himself participated in the battles. The fighting spanned over a period of hours, with regime security forces responding to the ambush with helicopter gunships and artillery.

Thursday's fighting may be just a precursor to something far more intense: There are reports of large convoys of regime forces moving toward the Syrian coastal region.

The combat comes alongside rising sectarian violence, with Sunni militants victimizing Alawites who had long enjoyed peace as the Alawite Assad family ruled the country from 1971 until December 2024, when President Bashar al Assad fled as Sunni extremists took over. While the new government repeatedly warns against sectarian reprisals against Alawites, citizens say security forces themselves have engaged in executions, kidnappings and home seizures.

Videos are circulating on social media which purportedly show the horrors being visited on the Alawites. From a grisly video that's said to show dozens of massacred Alawites in a heap, to another that's described as capturing Sunnis shooting at the residences of Alawites in Homs province:

...while another is said to shows an Alawite's body being dragged behind an SUV... (not found)
HTS is dragging the bodies of Alawites behind cars in Latakia. Utterly horrific. pic.twitter.com/vE46ze7e9y
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) March 6, 202
...and this video is described as depicting civilians "armed by the Syrian government" menacing Alawite towns with loyalties to the fallen Assad government:

In addition to the Alawite ambush against regime forces, protests against the new Sunni regime erupted in several cities, including Latakia City and Tartous, with demonstrators demanding that regime forces withdraw from the area. Russia's RT reports that Alawites are begging for Russia, the United Nations and the international community to protect them from attacks at the hands of regime forces and allies, whom they accuse of entering the coastal region "under the pretext of pursuing remnants of the [Assad] regime -- while in reality, aiming to terrorize and kill the Syrian people in general and the Alawite community in particular."

More significantly, RT said "civil war is now official," pointing to a public declaration that establishes a new "Military Council for the Liberation of Syria." Among the group's goals:
  • "Liberating all Syrian terrirtory from all occupying and terrorist forces"
  • "Rebuilding strong institutions on national and democratic foundations"
  • "Protecting the lives and property of Syrian citizens"
"We call on all Syrians, from different sects, regions and ethnicities, to join our ranks and stand with us in this historical stage," the new group wrote.

Meanwhile, to the extent that Israel's government wants Syria to become a failed state, there are smiles aplenty in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as the chaos and bloodshed mount.