Hugo Bechega
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
So this is coming from the monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which for years has been documenting incidents across Syria. They have a network of sources and activists working with them. And they say that... They have verified videos and also gathered testimonies from relatives of the dead, saying that 52 Alawite men were executed by Syrian security forces.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
Now, we haven't been able to independently verify those claims. We've seen one footage that has been released by activists. Dozens of bodies of men and boys in civilian clothing are piled in the yard of a house.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
Again, we haven't been able to independently verify the authenticity of the footage, but this follows those clashes in Latakia between government forces and supporters of the deposed president Bashar al-Assad.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
Exactly. And this started yesterday. What we're hearing is that there was a significant military operation targeting an official from the Assad government in Latakia. This is a region on the Mediterranean coast in Syria. And government forces were then ambushed by fighters loyal to Bashar al-Assad. This led to some violent clashes. Confrontations then spread to other parts of the region.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
And what we're seeing today is this massive response by the authorities. Reinforcements with possibly hundreds of security forces have been sent from other parts of the country to coastal areas of Syria. Now there is a curfew until tomorrow. in both Latakia and Tartus, two major cities on the coast. And again, this is a stronghold of the Assad family.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
So a snapshot of the tensions in Syria, a country that remains deeply divided.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
Yeah, I don't think it's a surprise that we're seeing these clashes. I was in Damascus earlier this year, and I met several high-level security officials in the new administration.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
And what they told me is that this was one of their main security challenges in the country, the resistance of Assad loyalists and the possibility that they could try to mount some kind of insurgency against the new leaders of the country. So I think it was almost inevitable. that we would see some kind of violence, especially in that part of the country.
Global News Podcast
Dozens killed in clashes in Syria
I think this is a very serious challenge for the interim president, Ahmed Alshara. He's trying to consolidate his authority across the country. There are many parts of Syria that are not controlled by his forces, by, you know, the government in Damascus. So I think a lot of people will be paying attention to this reaction from the security forces that's happening now in those parts of Syria.