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Protests turn deadly during demonstration in Syrian city of Latakia

Protests turn deadly during demonstration in Syrian city of Latakia
By Urooba Jamal and Umut Uras
Published On 28 Dec 2025

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28 Dec 2025 - 19:00
 (19:00 GMT)

Thanks for joining us

Watch our NewsFeed video from the field on today’s deadly protests here.

Check out our news story on the fatal attack on the mosque in Homs that led to today’s demonstrations here.

And find all our Syria coverage here.

28 Dec 2025 - 18:55
 (18:55 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

This live page will soon close. Here are the day’s main developments:

  • Alawite Syrians took to the streets en masse in central and coastal parts of Syria after a call by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite leader living outside the country, who urged the community to protest killings and discrimination.
  • A security officer was among several people killed in later clashes as the protesters were confronted by pro-government demonstrators, and masked gunmen opened fire on security personnel. Dozens of others were wounded.
  • Alawite protesters demanded that the government implement federalism, decentralisation, and the release of detainees from the community currently imprisoned.
  • The Defence Ministry’s media office said the army entered the city centres of Latakia and Tartous with armoured vehicles and tanks to calm the situation.
  • The violence comes two days after explosive devices were reportedly planted inside an Alawite mosque in Homs city. Authorities haven’t publicly identified a suspect yet in Friday’s blasts.
28 Dec 2025 - 18:45
 (18:45 GMT)

Masked gunmen allegedly involved in attacks on security personnel

An Al Jazeera correspondent has confirmed that gunfire was directed at Syrian security forces at the Azhari roundabout in Latakia earlier on Sunday.

Two security personnel were also wounded in Tartous after unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at the al-Anaza police station in Baniyas.

“During the protests at Azhari roundabout in Latakia city and the National Hospital roundabout in Jableh city, we observed masked and armed individuals belonging to the so-called Coastal Shield Brigades and Al-Jawad Brigades terrorist groups,” said the head of internal security in the Latakia governorate, Brigadier General Abdul Aziz al-Ahmad.

He alleged that the two armed groups have previously been responsible for “field executions” and the detonation of explosive devices on the M1 highway.

28 Dec 2025 - 18:30
 (18:30 GMT)

More details emerge on Latakia violence

About two hours into the protest, gunshots rang out from an unidentified location, according to a Reuters news agency reporter at the scene.

Security forces then fired in ⁠the air, and the protest descended into chaos, with demonstrators carrying wounded people away on foot.

A written statement from the Latakia governorate’s media office distributed to reporters said three people were killed and more than 40 were wounded. It did not specify whether the casualties were all in Azhari Square or in other towns where protests took place.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that one member of the government forces was killed by gunfire from “armed remnants of the former regime” in Latakia. It ‌said civilians and security personnel were wounded in gunfire by unknown assailants near Azhari Square.

28 Dec 2025 - 18:15
 (18:15 GMT)

Questions surround deadly bombing of Alawite mosque

Preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque targeted in Homs, but authorities haven’t publicly identified a suspect yet in Friday’s blast.

Funerals for the eight dead were held on Saturday. About 18 people were also wounded in the attack.

A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, which indicated the attack targeted members of the Alawite sect.

Government officials condemned Friday’s attack and promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but haven’t yet announced any arrests.

28 Dec 2025 - 18:00
 (18:00 GMT)

Photos: Security forces stand guard as Alawite Syrians protest

People from the Alawite community hold up a poster with the image of the head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council, Ghazal Ghazal, during a protest in Latakia, Syria [Karam al-Masri/Reuters]
Protesters are demanding federalism and an end to what they say is the killing of and violations against Alawites [Karam al-Masri/Reuters]
Members of the Syrian security forces monitor the Alawite protest [Karam al-Masri/Reuters]
At least one security officer was killed in an attack in Syria on Sunday [Karam al-Masri/Reuters]

28 Dec 2025 - 17:45
 (17:45 GMT)

‘One Syria and one people’

Counter-protester Mohammed Ismail from Latakia blamed Alawites who benefited from the former system under the regime of ex-President Bashar al-Assad for sowing discord in the country.

“We are calling for one Syria and one people and they don’t want that,” he said. “They want to return us to chaos so they can benefit.”

During the reign of the al-Assad dynasty, Alawite Syrians were overrepresented in government jobs as well as in the army and security forces.

28 Dec 2025 - 17:30
 (17:30 GMT)

Tartous governor says Ghazal Ghazal trying to ‘create chaos’

Governor Ahmed al-Shami says the religious leader is trying to play on people’s emotions to create chaos through his calls for Alawites to take to the streets and protest the government.

Al-Shami told Syrian state media that the right to demonstrate is available to everyone as long as it does not lead to destabilising the country.

Sunday’s deadly demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite leader living outside of Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and Abroad.

28 Dec 2025 - 17:15
 (17:15 GMT)

More violence documented at protests in Latakia

Social media footage verified by Al Jazeera depicted the moment a young Syrian was stabbed in the city of Latakia.

The clip, published by a local activist, shows the young man with a white flag inscribed with the Islamic declaration of faith while running in the Az-Zahari roundabout area.

Another protester then approaches the unidentified man and stabs him with a sharp object, causing severe bleeding. The condition of the stabbing victim is not immediately clear.

28 Dec 2025 - 17:00
 (17:00 GMT)
Analysis

Demonstrations part of ‘state institution building’ after al-Assad rule

The protests are not an indication the government is losing control but rather they are “showing the fissures in the control that it already has”, an analyst says.

“This is not a fault of the government. This is the state building itself – and state institution-building takes time,” Gamal Mansour, a doctoral candidate in the political science department at the University of Toronto, told Al Jazeera.

Time is needed “especially moving from a militia that was fighting against the regime into a full-fledged force of order and stability. It is a long shot in any situation.”

Meanwhile, the Alawites are “a community that feels besieged, that feels left out of the equation”, he said.

The current government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa “does not want to hear anything about federalism” as the Alawite demonstrators are demanding, he added.

“It doesn’t even want to hear anything about decentralisation for that matter,” Mansour said.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks at the UN General Assembly in September 2025 [Yuki Iwamura/AP]
28 Dec 2025 - 16:45
 (16:45 GMT)

‘Why this killing?’

While many protesters have expressed support for Ghazal Ghazal – the head of the Islamic Alawite Council, who called for demonstrations – they have stressed they’re not backers of the former regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

“Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping?” asked Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader protesting in Latakia before the clashes.

Ghazal’s council has condemned what it called a systematic campaign of killings, forced displacement, detentions, and incitement against Alawites for more than a ‌year. It accused the Damascus authorities of responsibility and said continued attacks risk driving the country toward collapse.

“Al-Assad is gone and we do not support al-Assad … Why this killing?” asked Ramadan.

28 Dec 2025 - 16:30
 (16:30 GMT)

‘We demand federalism like US, Germany and UAE’

An Alawite demonstrator says they have taken to the streets “to demand our dignity”.

“We came to demand political federalism just like big states such as America, Germany and the [United Arab] Emirates,” Salman Mansour said.

“We came to ask for our right to live after we were killed in our lands,” he added.

Eight people were killed in an explosion at a mosque of the Alawite minority in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the blast as a “terrorist crime”. Countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Qatar, ‌also condemned the attack.

 

28 Dec 2025 - 16:15
 (16:15 GMT)

Security forces trying to de-escalate situation during sectarian tensions

By Resul Serdar Atas

Reporting from Damascus, Syria

While demonstrations took place in Tartous and Latakia, in parallel, there were some Sunni groups also protesting and calling on the government to immediately initiate the process of transitional justice.

There are millions in this country who say the former regime committed atrocities, and many high-level former members involved in these crimes have still not been taken to court.

Meanwhile, the al-Assad dynasty that ruled over Syria for 54 years was part of the Alawite community here. That’s why many people, the majority of Syrians, are now also accusing the Alawites of not protesting against ex-President Bashar al-Assad while he committed these crimes against Syrians here.

Many from the Alawite community, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, they’re feeling excluded from the system. They have lost the privileges enjoyed during the decades-long rule of the regime.

So that’s why it’s an extremely huge challenge now for the government here. That’s why today we have seen, despite lots of provocations, the security forces trying to de-escalate the situation.

28 Dec 2025 - 16:06
 (16:06 GMT)
Houthi

Syrian military enters Latakia and Tartous city centres

The media office of the Syrian Ministry of Defence says the army has entered the city centres of Latakia and Tartous with armoured vehicles and tanks.

The new military deployment follows an escalation of violence during protests today.

The army’s mission is to “maintain security and restore stability in cooperation with the internal security forces”, said a military statement quoted by the official SANA news agency.

28 Dec 2025 - 15:50
 (15:50 GMT)

Video shows gunfire during protests in Latakia

Social media footage circulated by activists and media platforms, and verified by Al Jazeera, captures gunfire erupting as demonstrators gathered in Latakia in northwestern Syria.

According to Syrian media reports, shots were fired towards internal security forces in the area. The number of casualties remains unclear.

At least three people have been reported killed and as many as 60 others wounded during protests that turned violent in several cities.

 

28 Dec 2025 - 15:35
 (15:35 GMT)

Protesters demand federalism, release of detainees

By Adham Abu Al Hussam

Reporting from Latakia

About a dozen locations in Syria’s coastal region have witnessed protests.

The majority of the banners raised by the protesters demanded federalism, decentralisation and the release of detainees who were arrested by internal security forces for their affiliation with remnants of the former regime.

The arrests were based on the March clashes between remnants of the regime and Syrian government forces in some areas of the Syrian coast.

28 Dec 2025 - 15:20
 (15:20 GMT)

Photos: Alawite Syrians take to the streets, demanding end to violence

Protesters from the Alawite religious minority demonstrate in Latakia, Syria [Omar Albam/AP]
The demonstration comes two days after a bomb blast at an Alawite mosque in Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 during Friday prayers [Omar Albam/AP]
A protester holds a banner during Sunday’s demonstrations [Omar Albam/AP]

28 Dec 2025 - 15:10
 (15:10 GMT)

Civil war may be over, but old scars remain

By Resul Serdar Atas

Reporting from Damascus, Syria

We have seen demonstrations kick off particularly in Latakia and Tartous. These are coastal cities where the majority of Alawites in the country live.

There were tight security measures, but later these protests became tense, and skirmishes and clashes started with the security forces. At least one member of the Syrian forces was killed along with two other unidentified people.

The divides are still in place whether they’re political divides or divides along sectarian or ethnic lines. So the government is having a difficult time really to keep the country together.

It’s expected these protests are going to be concluded soon, but we are seeing the government is sending more military vehicles and personnel to the hotspots.

Some of the people we have been talking to, they’re criticising Alawite leader Ghazal Ghazal, saying his calls to action are “clear provocations”. The civil war may be over; however, the scars, the wounds are still here.

28 Dec 2025 - 15:00
 (15:00 GMT)

WATCH: Protests turn deadly in Syria

28 Dec 2025 - 14:45
 (14:45 GMT)

Alawite leader Ghazal’s call leads to protests

Today’s demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite sheikh living outside Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and Abroad.

He urged Alawites in Syria to join peaceful mass marches from noon (09:00 GMT) until 5pm (14:00 GMT) to reject the recent killings in the Homs mosque attack while demanding a federal government system in Syria.

“We do not want a civil war, and it is our right to determine our destiny,” Ghazal was quoted as saying by Syrian media.

His call led to mass demonstrations in central and western parts of Syria, which resulted in clashes with security forces.