Clashes broke out yesterday in several coastal cities in **Syria** after fighters loyal to ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad attacked security forces. The clashes, which appear to have been coordinated, have already killed at least 70 people. The interim government in Damascus sent reinforcements to the cities of Latakia and Tartus, as well as their surrounding areas. ([AP](https://apnews.com/article/latakia-syria-clashes-assad-loyalists-alawites-ef7496972e037db8e90c77a5f498d721))
The attacks by Assad loyalists mark the first major security challenge to face the interim government led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, with the exception of ongoing fighting between Kurdish factions and Turkey-backed militias, which predates the regime change in December. The relative calm had surprised many observers, since it seemed unlikely that HTS would be able to consolidate its security control, let alone its political control, as extensively as it has over the past three months.
To some extent, the ease with which the HTS-led government has exerted control reflects the degree to which the Syrian military and the Assad regime had been hollowed out over the course of the Syrian civil war, leaving little resistance to the new regime once Assad was toppled. The widespread popular relief at the Assad regime’s ouster likely also created a honeymoon period for HTS.
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