Community leaders in Syria’s troubled Latakia province are in the process of handing over weapons to security forces, following bloodshed in the coastal region earlier this month.
Security Committee officials in the coastal province held a meeting with community leaders of the Dalia and Qutailibiyah subdistricts in the Jableh countryside, with the aim of disarming residents in the two areas.
The Syrian ministry of interior said in a Facebook post that the gathering aimed at facilitating a handover of weapons and “restrict them to the hands of the state, in order to promote civil peace”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the General Security Directorate seized a cache of light weapons hidden inside a sewage pit in the village in the village of Ain al-Bayda in the Latakia countryside following a tip-off from locals.
Bloodshed erupted on the coast on 6 March and continued for several days following mass attacks on security forces in Latakia and Tartous provinces by remnants of the former regime. Armed groups linked to the new government then embarked on a brutal counter-insurgency campaign, killing hundreds of civilians and unarmed regime fighters.
Sources from the Civil Peace Committee told Syria TV that a meeting was held on Tuesday at the Qardaha Municipality building in Latakia province and included representatives of the local community and military officials, headed by the regional security director, Sajed Al-Deek.
The meeting was the culmination of ongoing efforts and local initiatives aimed at addressing the repercussions of the recent wave of sectarian violence.
It is hoped this will pave the way for enhanced security and stability in the region, with promises from the security leadership to use successful models of reconciliation for other areas of the Syrian coast.
The parties agreed to call for the displaced residents, particularly those who had sought refuge in the mountains and open areas of the coast, to head back to their homes and insisted there would be no obstacles preventing their return.
Security personnel had been given clear instructions to maintain cordial relations with all the people of Qardaha – a former stronghold of the Assad regime – and to provide residents with any assistance when necessary.
This comes as an investigation by EekadFacts released on Wednesday showed that a number of leading figures in militant groups loyal to fallen tyrant Bashar al-Assad are resurfacing, with many of them accused of stoking sectarian violence in Latakia, Hama, and Tartous.Â
The different factions of Assad loyalists established ties to the so-called Military Council for the Liberation of Syria, which has launched attacks against the government forces in Syria’s coastal region.Â
The council, founded by Brigadier General Ghiath Dalla, aims to unite Assad regime loyalists and coordinate military operations against Syria’s new government.
The investigation claimed Bassam Hossam Al-Din and the Usoud Al-Jabal Battalion, also known as the Mountain Lions, as an active figure in the insurgency brewing in Assad’s former heartlands.
