Intense fighting between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to deposed leader Bashar al-Assad resulted in 48 deaths on Thursday, according to a war monitor.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that fighters loyal to Assad killed at least 16 security personnel. In addition, 28 of Assad’s fighters and four civilians were also killed.
The Syrian-based Step News Agency reported a significantly higher number, claiming that government-aligned forces killed “about 70” former regime fighters. These figures have not been independently verified by SOFX.
The SOHR described the recent fighting, which occurred near the town of Jableh in the Latakia countryside, the stronghold of the ousted president’s Alawite minority, “the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled.”
Shortly after the fighting erupted, a video was released by an Assad-era commander, who said that a resistance group called the “Coastal Shield Regiment” had been formed to oppose the new government.
Miqdad Fathiyeh, commander of the Coastal Shield Forces, composed of former Syrian Arab Army (SAA) cells, has released a video from the battlefront, calling for fighting against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). pic.twitter.com/qmBUMiX31Q
— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) March 6, 2025
‼️The Coastal Shield Brigade, a military force consisting of former SAA soldiers under the #Assad Regime, have launched a massive offensive on #HTS Jihadists in #Jableh and #Baniyas in western #Syria earlier tonight, resulting in the death of at least 13 HTS Jihadists. Curfew has… pic.twitter.com/rRmyDUMNws
— SyrianOSINT (@SyrianOsint) March 6, 2025
The Syrian government forces responded to the recent attacks by deploying additional troops and military vehicles.
🚨 Syrian Defence Ministry armoured vehicles and military units are ready to move towards to Latakia in Syria ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/9ccOdBz7sh
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) March 6, 2025
Late Thursday, the SOHR reported that armed groups executed ambushes and attacks, leading to intense clashes between the two sides after military reinforcements arrived from Idlib to carry out a large-scale security operation in Latakia and its countryside.
“Today, the villages of Harf al-Sari, Babda, Dweir Babda, Dalia, Wadi al-Qala, and Beit Ana were subjected to artillery and rocket shelling from the naval college, where the military operations command is stationed,” the report reads. “Additionally, helicopters targeted positions in the village of Beit Ana, with intense helicopter and reconnaissance aircraft activity in the skies over the area.”
Meanwhile, during the crackdown against Assad forces, authorities reportedly arrested General Ibrahim Howeija, who served as Syria’s Air Force Intelligence Chief from 1987 to 2002. Howeija has been linked to multiple assassinations under Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, including the 1977 killing of Lebanese Druze leader Kamal Bek Jumblatt.
