TUNIS, March 9. /TASS/. Fighting between the Syrian new government’s security forces and supporters of former President Bashar Assad have resumed in Syria’s Latakia governorate, the Al-Ikhbaria television channel reported.
According to the TV channel, security forces have deployed additional troops to the city of Al-Qadmus in the Tartus governorate to "maintain security, ensure stability and restore trandquility in the region."
The SANA news agency said earlier that mobile communications and internet services are not available in the Daraa and al-Suwaida governorates. According to the agency, communications cables between Daraa and Damascus were cut as a result of acts of sabotage.
On March 6, clashes broke out in various areas of the Latakia governorate between Syrian security forces and armed groups supporting former Syrian President Bashar Assad. The fiercest fighting took place in Jableh, home to Alawites, representatives of the religious minority, to which the Assad family belongs. Authorities sent army units and armored vehicles to the three provinces, and curfews have been imposed in the main cities. The Syrian Defense Ministry announced on March 7 that it had regained control of the coastal areas. On march 8, Syria’s interim government deployed additional forces to littoral areas to suppress armed resistance from pro-Assad units.
According to the Rudaw Kurdish television channel, at least 120 armed pro-Assad militants and 93 government troops have been killed in the fighting in the Latakia and Tartus governorates. The death toll among civilians has exceeded 500, with most of the victims belonging to the Alawite community, which makes up 12% of the country's population.