Clashes between Islamists now in power in Syria and Assad’s supporters leave casualties

Syrian fighters stand on vehicle parked on a street at the central square in Damascus, Syria, on December 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Clashes between Islamists who took over Syria and supporters of ousted President Bashar Assad’s government killed two Islamic fighters on Wednesday (December 25, 2024) and wounded others, according to interim officials.

The details of how the fighting erupted and who instigated the confrontation were not immediately known. Interim officials in Syria said two fighters were killed from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the stunning offensive that toppled Assad earlier this month.

Syria’s transition has been surprisingly smooth but it’s only been a few weeks since Assad fled the country and his administration and forces melted away. The insurgents who ousted Assad are rooted in fundamentalist Islamist ideology, and though they have vowed to create a pluralist system, it isn’t clear how or whether they plan to share power.

Since Assad’s fall, dozens of Syrians have been killed in acts of revenge, according to activists and monitors, the vast majority of them from the minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that Assad belongs to.

In the capital, Damascus, Alawite protesters scuffled with Sunni counter-protesters and gunshots were heard. The Associated Press could not confirm details of the shooting.

Alawite protests also took place along the coast of Syria, in the city of Homs and the Hama countryside. Some called for the release of soldiers from the former Syrian army now imprisoned by the HTS.

The Alawite protests were apparently in part sparked by an online video showing the burning of an Alawite shrine. The interim authorities insisted the video was old and not a recent incident.

Sectarian violence has erupted in bursts since Assad’s ouster but nothing close to the level feared after nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated half-million people. The war fractured Syria, creating millions of refugees and displacing tens of thousands throughout the country.

This week, some Syrians who were forcibly displaced, started trickling home, trying to rebuild their lives. Shocked by the devastation, many found that little remains of their houses.

In the northwestern Idlib region, residents were repairing shops and sealing damaged windows on Tuesday, trying to bring back a sense of normalcy.

The city of Idlib and much of the surrounding province has for years been under control of the HTS, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, once aligned with al-Qaida, but has been the scene of relentless attacks by the government forces.

Hajjah Zakia Daemessaid, who was forcibly displaced during the war, said coming back to her house in the Idlib countryside was bitter-sweet.

“My husband and I spent 43 years of hard work saving money to build our home, only to find that all of it has gone to waste,” said the 62-year-old.

In the dusty neighborhoods, cars drove by with luggage strapped on top. People stood idly on the streets or sat in empty coffee shops.

In Damascus, Syria’s new authorities raided warehouses on Wednesday, confiscating drugs such as Captagon and cannabis, used by Assad’s forces. A million Captagon pills and hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of cannabis were set ablaze, the interim authorities said.