On Thursday, the new regime of Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the new president of Syria, had to deal with the greatest challenge since it took power.
An organized group of Assad regime loyalists, led by senior officers in Assad’s former army, launched an organized military campaign against the new regime’s forces in coastal cities, with an emphasis on Tartus and Latakia.
The new regime’s security forces were surprised and unprepared for an event of this magnitude.
Heavy exchanges of fire were recorded between the sides during the fighting, and throughout the night, dozens of deaths were recorded on each side.
Assad regime loyalists, under a new military organization called “Coast Guard,” claimed that they managed to capture 37 of al-Julani’s forces.
The regime declared a nightly curfew (which will probably last until 12 noon) in an attempt to calm the significant uprising in the area that was the strong stronghold of the previous regime.
At the same time, the regime sent reinforcements: thousands of fighters from Idlib and Aleppo towards the coastal cities in long convoys.
The regime forces enjoy a significant numerical advantage and the fact that it is very easy to encircle and cut off the Syrian coastal cities – with only the sea to the west.
The regime has announced an operation “to eliminate the remnants of the previous regime,” an operation that is expected to be brutal and vengeful against the Alawite population.
At the same time, the move by supporters of the previous regime, three months after the fall of the regime, ignites hope in the hearts of opponents of the new regime.
The new regime is now being tested. The situation in the coastal cities is affecting other parts of Syria and could undermine al-Julani’s rule.
I will immediately attach documentation from the night’s events in the coastal cities and also from Homs (where the regime took revenge on the Alawites).
Daraa, Southern Syria: Call for Jihad Against Israel
Following last night’s events in western Syria, which have raised concerns among supporters of the new Syrian regime in other regions, residents of al-Aliyah, a village about 15 km from the Israeli border, are calling for unity in jihad against Israeli forces maneuvering in the area.
According to them, Israeli forces are advancing from the west toward their location (al-Harah). There is a call to gather at al-Adnan Mosque in the village to prepare.
The village of al-Aliyah is about 8 km from Swisah, where IDF forces were reportedly present in recent days.
