Fourteen interior ministry personnel were killed and ten injured in an ambush by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad near Tartous, Syria.

The clash occurred during an attempt to arrest a former officer linked to abuses at Saydnaya prison.

Assad’s regime fell two weeks ago to rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group designated as a terrorist organization by several countries.

Protests erupted in Homs after a video allegedly showing an attack on an Alawite shrine, resulting in one death, the BBC has reported.

HTS has pledged to protect religious and ethnic minorities, but unrest persists, including demonstrations in Tartous, Latakia, and Qardaha.

Written by B.C. Begley