"A heavy security presence was deployed in the Syrian city of Latakia after the transitional government imposed a curfew, following days of protests by members of the Alawite community over alleged attacks against them. Footage filmed on Tuesday shows security forces lining empty streets into the evening. Abdulaziz al-Ahmad, head of the transitional government’s internal security in Latakia province, had said several ‘key instigators involved in fuelling the recent protests’ had been arrested. He said the decision to impose a night-time curfew was taken ‘to maintain security and stability and to protect public order’. The transitional government’s internal security command said the curfew would be in force from 5:00 pm on Tuesday until 6:00 am on Wednesday. Thousands of Alawites took to the streets of Latakia last Saturday following a call by Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, head of Syria’s Supreme Alawite Islamic Council, to protest what he described as ‘attacks’ targeting members of their community. The appeal came after a bombing at the Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in Homs, located in a predominantly Alawite neighbourhood, which killed eight people and wounded dozens more. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged that public security forces staged fake clashes, pretending to target remnants of the former regime in order to create a pretext to disperse and suppress unarmed demonstrators. The Interior Ministry of the transitional government, however, said security personnel deployed to oversee the protests had come under direct attack in Latakia, and that further incidents had occurred in rural areas of Tartus involving groups linked to remnants of the former regime. The transitional government took power in Damascus in December 2024 and later appointed Ahmad al-Sharaa as transitional head, who pledged to form an inclusive government."