Syria’s new authorities launched an operation Thursday against militias aligned with ousted President Bashar al-Assad, according to state news agency SANA.
The reports said the operation was focused in the western province of Tartous, and that some militia members had been killed.
The development came a day after pro-Assad fighters killed 14 members of the rebel group that led the offensive that pushed Assad from power.
Syria's new interior minister said on Telegram that 10 other people were wounded in what he called an “ambush,” and he vowed to crack down on anyone who undermines Syria’s security.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebel fighters were attacked while trying to arrest a former official from Assad’s government who was accused of issuing execution orders at the notorious Saydnaya prison.
Syrian refugees
U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday that more than 50,000 refugees have returned to Syria during the last three weeks, with the rate of return slowly increasing.
“Material conditions inside Syria remain dire - more humanitarian and recovery assistance must be delivered to returnees and all those in need,” Grandi said.
By comparison, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said earlier this month that it verified the return of 34,000 Syrian refugees during the first eight months of this year.
More than 13 years of civil war pushed about 5 million people to flee the country, while 7 million others were displaced within Syria.
More than half of the refugees went to Turkey, while most of the others fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
A UNHCR report earlier this month said while many of the refugees are interested in returning to Syria, many are choosing to wait for now and evaluate the security situation and political stabilization.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
