INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fourteen members of the Syrian police were killed in an &ambush& by forces loyal to the ousted government in the Tartous countryside, the
transitional administration said early on Thursday, as demonstrations and an overnight curfew elsewhere marked the most widespread unrest
since Bashar al-Assad&s removal more than two weeks ago.Syria&s new interior minister said on Telegram that 10 police members were also
wounded by what he called &remnants& of the Assad government in Tartous, vowing to crack down on &anyone who dares to undermine Syria&s
security or endanger the lives of its citizens,& Reuters reported.Earlier, Syrian police imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs,
state media reported, after unrest there linked to demonstrations that residents said were led by members of the minority Alawite and
Shi&ite Muslim religious communities.Reuters could not immediately confirm the demands of the demonstrators nor the degree of disturbance
that took place.Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite
minority, a sect long seen as loyal to Assad, who was toppled by Sunni Islamist rebels on Dec
8.Spokespeople for Syria&s new ruling administration led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al Qaeda affiliate, did not
immediately respond to requests for comment on the curfew.State media said the curfew was being imposed for one night, from 6 pm local time
(1500 GMT) until 8 am on Thursday morning.The country&s new leaders have repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups, who fear the
former rebels now in control could seek to impose a conservative form of Islamist government.Small demonstrations also took place in other
areas on or near Syria&s coast, where most of the country&s Alawite minority live, including in Tartous.The demonstrations took place around
the time an undated video was circulated on social networks showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo, with armed men
walking around inside and posing near human bodies.The interior ministry said on its official Telegram account the video dated back to the
rebel offensive on Aleppo in late November and the violence was carried out by unknown groups, adding whoever was circulating the video now
appeared to be seeking to incite sectarian strife.The ministry also said some members of the former regime had attacked interior ministry
forces in Syria&s coastal area on Wednesday, leaving a number of dead and wounded.The post 14 Syrian police killed in ambush as unrest
spreads first appeared on Ariana News.
