Deadly Clashes Pose Test for Syria’s New Leaders

At least 16 security personnel were killed on Thursday by gunmen loyal to Syria’s ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor said, in one of the deadliest clashes for Syria’s new leaders since the collapse of the Assad government.

The attack in Latakia Province, long a stronghold for Mr. al-Bashar along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, set off an hourslong clash between government forces and the gunmen. It also prompted protests across the coastal region, with thousands calling on government forces to withdraw from the area.

“I heard some demonstrators threatening to return with weapons,” said Alaa Mousa, 30, a resident of Tartous, a port city. He said he felt like “the situation is on the verge of collapse.”

The clashes were among the most violent since a rebel coalition toppled the Assad government in December and installed an Islamist transitional government that has sought to exert its authority across the fractious country.

The coastal region has emerged as one of the most challenging areas for the Sunni Muslim-led government. It is the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, which includes the Assad family. The Alawites, who practice an offshoot of Shiite Islam, make up around 10 percent of Syria’s population and dominated the ruling class and upper ranks of the military under the Assad government.

The flaring tensions have become a critical test for the country’s new leaders.

Ibrahim al-Assil, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said that if government forces “act in a disciplined manner, they might succeed in restoring order and maintain popular support.” But, he said, if “individual fighters or rogue units engage in revenge attacks against locals, the situation could spiral into sectarian clashes, further destabilizing the country.”