On the morning of December 11, 2025, the village of Ain al-Hayah, which belongs to the Harf al-Masaytara subdistrict in the countryside of Latakia province, witnessed a wide-scale security campaign carried out by a force affiliated with the General Security of the interim authority of “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.” The operation resulted in the arrest of nine civilians from the village, all of them from the Alawite community, in addition to the assault and beating of two women from the same community.
The events began when a force from the General Security attempted to raid the home of one of the wanted individuals in the village. According to available information, a brief clash broke out between the raiding force and the targeted individual, who managed to escape outside the village. Despite his escape, the forces imposed a full security cordon on the entrances and exits of Ain al-Hayah and began extensive house-search operations.
During the first hours, four young men with no connection to the incident were arrested, according to activists from the area. The arrests later expanded to include the nine detainees mentioned above. The search operations also extended to neighboring areas, including the village of al-Qurandah, in addition to establishing security checkpoints in the Harf al-Masaytara square, the al-Wata junction, the al-Sinqalin division, the al-Sanibla arch, Bahmbaru, Firshat, and al-Qulailiyya.
The deployed forces set up inspection checkpoints around the village and on the roads leading to it, including searches of cars and the personal phones of passersby. Additional military reinforcements arrived, with more than ten General Security vehicles observed heading toward Jabal al-Qardaha. These measures created a state of tension and fear among the residents, amid concerns that the arrests might expand and that movement restrictions would continue.
These developments come as the “Strike of Dignity” entered its fourth day on December 11, 2025. The strike involves residents from the Alawite community in several cities and towns along the Syrian coast, responding to the call of the head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the diaspora, Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, who announced a five-day general strike (December 8–12, 2025). These events coincide with increasing security pressure from the interim authority amid growing security tensions that have affected coastal areas since November 25, 2025.
This development represents a new episode in a series of heightened security measures witnessed in the region, amid growing concern among residents about the future situation in Ain al-Hayah and its surroundings.
