The clash broke out when a patrolling team of the General Security Force under the Department of Military Operations tried to arrest former regime official Muhammad Kanjo Hassan. Resistance by Hassan’s followers and local gunmen resulted in deadly attacks and further clashes.
“Fourteen members of the Public Security Forces were killed in clashes with gunmen in the village of Khirbet al-Maja in the southern countryside of Tartous. Three rebels were also killed, in addition to injuries on both sides,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that a General Security Force patrol attached to the Department of Military Operations was on a mission to arrest an officer of the former regime forces, Muhammad Kanzo Hassan, who held the position of Director of Military Justice. During his search, the Regional Court in Khirbet al-Maja, Tartos Municipality The man’s brother and armed youths of the officer’s followers intercepted them and drove the patrol out of the village, the village They set up an ambush for them nearby and targeted a patrol car,” the statement said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights further stated that the Military Operations Department had sent military forces to capture rebels in the village and that there had been violent clashes with elements of the Military Operations Department.
The Syrian Observatory indicated that violent clashes broke out between gunmen from the village of Khirbet al-Maja in Tartos and General Security Forces affiliated with the Department of Military Operations. Gunmen targeted a general security force car, causing it to burn amid violent clashes between the two sides and deaths on both sides.
Syrian opposition fighters took control of Damascus on December 8, leading to Assad’s flight and ending his rule after more than 13 years of civil war. Forces loyal to Al-Shara have installed a three-month caretaker government. On the same day, Qatar reopened its embassy in Damascus and called for the immediate lifting of sanctions on Syria after a high-level visit marked a change in diplomatic relations.