Syrian security forces imposed a curfew on Latakia city, a bastion of the country’s Alawite minority, state media reported yesterday, days after four people were killed in protests that spiralled into violence.
Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian bloodshed since longtime leader Bashar Al Assad, who hails from the Alawite community, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced.
State media said the curfew was set to last from 5pm yesterday until 6am today.
Security forces reinforced their deployment in a number of neighbourhoods in Latakia city on the Mediterranean coast, which witnessed riots on Monday that injured about a dozen people.
Thousands of Alawite protesters gathered on Sunday in Azhari Square in Latakia city to demand a decentralised political system in Syria and the release of thousands of Alawite prisoners.
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