Fourteen Syrian police officers were killed in a Dec. 25 attack amid continued unrest in the Middle Eastern country, according to Syria’s interior ministry.
The ambush, conducted by supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, occurred in Syria’s Tartus region and was the first confirmed large-scale attack by forces loyal to Assad since Sunni rebels took over the country earlier this month.
In response, rebel forces vowed “to establish security and hold accountable the remnants of the former regime who are trying to destabilize security and terrorize people in some areas of the Syrian coast,” according to state news agency SANA.
“We will not tolerate any criminal gang that seeks to undermine the security and safety of our people,” the director of public security in the western region of Latakia told SANA.
In that area last week, former security forces of the Assad regime could be seen surrendering their weapons to the rebel forces.
Under Assad, the Alawite minority—a Shia Islam offshoot—dominated the security forces. Syria’s new regime is Sunni Islamist. The coastal Tartus region is heavily Alawite.
Dozens of Syrians, mainly Alawites, have been killed since the end of the Assad regime, according to The Associated Press, citing activists and monitors.
In Tartus, there has been a curfew.
Protests broke out in Latakia this week after a video went viral allegedly showing an Alawite shrine being set ablaze.
“We confirm that the circulating video is an old video dating back to the period of the liberation of the city of Aleppo, made by unknown groups, and that our agencies are working day and night to preserve property and religious sites,” the interior ministry said.
“The goal of re-publishing such clips is to stir up strife among the Syrian people at this sensitive stage.”
A curfew was imposed in the area following violence after the video went viral.
Tensions have risen between rebels and Assad supporters across Syria since Assad’s government was toppled, ending the family’s five-decade rule.
Dozens of Syrians have been killed since the Assad regime fell, The Associated Press said, citing activists and monitors. Those killed have been largely Alawites.
Clashes also occurred in the cities of Homs and Hama in western Syria.