Syrian: Three dead, 60 injured in Latakia protest violence

Shafaq News– Damascus

Syrian authorities said on Sunday that three people were killed and at least 60 others wounded after gunfire broke out during protests in the coastal city of Latakia, attributing the violence to an armed group they said had infiltrated the demonstrations.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the army units, backed by armored vehicles, entered the centers of Latakia and Tartous following escalating attacks by “outlaw groups affiliated with the former regime” targeting civilians and security forces.

“The army’s mission was limited to maintaining public order and preventing further violence in the two coastal cities.”

The head of internal security in Latakia province, Brigadier General Abdul Aziz Al-Ahmad, said security forces came under direct gunfire from an unknown source while deployed near protest sites in Latakia and the nearby city of Jableh, resulting in injuries among security personnel and civilians, as well as damage to police and special mission vehicles.

Al-Ahmad added that an armed group concealed among protesters threw an offensive grenade at a special missions’ checkpoint assigned to protect the area, wounding two members of the internal security forces.

Thousands of Syrians from the Alawite community staged protests on Sunday in several coastal cities, as well as in Homs and Hama, calling for federalism and the right to self-determination, according to Shafaq News’ correspondent in Damascus.