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DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Fourteen members of the Syrian police were killed in an "ambush" by forces loyal to the ousted government in the Tartous countryside, the transitional administration said early on Thursday, as demonstrations and an overnight curfew elsewhere marked the most widespread unrest since Bashar al-Assad's removal more than two weeks ago.
Syria's new interior minister said on Telegram that 10 police members were also wounded by what he called "remnants" of the Assad government in Tartous, vowing to crack down on "anyone who dares to undermine Syria's security or endanger the lives of its citizens."
Earlier, Syrian police imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs, state media reported, after unrest there linked to demonstrations that residents said were led by members of the minority Alawite and Shi’ite Muslim religious communities.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the demands of the demonstrators nor the degree of disturbance that took place.
Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite minority, a sect long seen as loyal to Assad, who was toppled by Sunni Islamist rebels on Dec. 8.
Spokespeople for Syria’s new ruling administration led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al Qaeda affiliate, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the curfew.
State media said the curfew was being imposed for one night, from 6 pm local time (1500 GMT) until 8 am on Thursday morning.
The country's new leaders have repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups, who fear the former rebels now in control could seek to impose a conservative form of Islamist government.
Small demonstrations also took place in other areas on or near Syria’s coast, where most of the country’s Alawite minority live, including in Tartous.
The demonstrations took place around the time an undated video was circulated on social networks showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo, with armed men walking around inside and posing near human bodies.
The interior ministry said on its official Telegram account the video dated back to the rebel offensive on Aleppo in late November and the violence was carried out by unknown groups, adding whoever was circulating the video now appeared to be seeking to incite sectarian strife.
The ministry also said some members of the former regime had attacked interior ministry forces in Syria’s coastal area on Wednesday, leaving a number of dead and wounded.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari in Damascus; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Chris Reese)
