A militant from Syrian factions walks into a military base in the capital Damascus on December 26, 2024.AFP
Syria's new leaders from the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) face the monumental task of safeguarding the multi-sectarian, multi-ethnic country from further collapse.
Rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda, HTS has moderated its rhetoric and vowed to ensure protection for minorities, including the Alawite community which Assad hails.
With 500,000 dead in the war -- sparked by Assad's crackdown on democracy protests -- and more than 100,000 missing, the new authorities have also pledged justice for the victims of abuses under the deposed ruler.
On Thursday, state news agency SANA said security forces launched an operation against pro-Assad militias in the western province of Tartus, "neutralising a certain number" of armed men.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, three gunmen linked with Assad's government were killed in the operation.
It comes a day after 14 security personnel of the new authorities and three gunmen were killed in clashes in the same province when forces tried to arrest an Assad-era officer, according to the Observatory.
The Britain-based monitor said the wanted man, Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, "held the position of director of the military justice department and field court chief" at the notorious Saydnaya prison complex.
It said he had "issued death sentences and arbitrary judgements against thousands of prisoners".
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