Syria protests updates: Deadly clashes erupt as hundreds demonstrate

Watch our NewsFeed video from the field on today’s deadly protests here.

Check out our news story on the fatal attack on the mosque in Homs that led to today’s demonstrations here.

And find all our Syria coverage here.

This live page will soon close. Here are the day’s main developments:

• Alawite Syrians took to the streets en masse in central and coastal parts of Syria after a call by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite leader living outside the country, who urged the community to protest killings and discrimination.
• A security officer was among several people killed in later clashes as the protesters were confronted by pro-government demonstrators, and masked gunmen opened fire on security personnel. Dozens of others were wounded.
• Alawite protesters demanded that the government implement federalism, decentralisation, and the release of detainees from the community currently imprisoned.
• The Defence Ministry’s media office said the army entered the city centres of Latakia and Tartous with armoured vehicles and tanks to calm the situation.
• The violence comes two days after explosive devices were reportedly planted inside an Alawite mosque in Homs city. Authorities haven’t publicly identified a suspect yet in Friday’s blasts.

An Al Jazeera correspondent has confirmed that gunfire was directed at Syrian security forces at the Azhari roundabout in Latakia earlier on Sunday.

Two security personnel were also wounded in Tartous after unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at the al-Anaza police station in Baniyas.

“During the protests at Azhari roundabout in Latakia city and the National Hospital roundabout in Jableh city, we observed masked and armed individuals belonging to the so-called Coastal Shield Brigades and Al-Jawad Brigades terrorist groups,” said the head of internal security in the Latakia governorate, Brigadier General Abdul Aziz al-Ahmad.

He alleged that the two armed groups have previously been responsible for “field executions” and the detonation of explosive devices on the M1 highway.

About two hours into the protest, gunshots rang out from an unidentified location, according to a Reuters news agency reporter at the scene.

Security forces then fired in ⁠the air, and the protest descended into chaos, with demonstrators carrying wounded people away on foot.

A written statement from the Latakia governorate’s media office distributed to reporters said three people were killed and more than 40 were wounded. It did not specify whether the casualties were all in Azhari Square or in other towns where protests took place.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that one member of the government forces was killed by gunfire from “armed remnants of the former regime” in Latakia. It ‌said civilians and security personnel were wounded in gunfire by unknown assailants near Azhari Square.

Preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque targeted in Homs, but authorities haven’t publicly identified a suspect yet in Friday’s blast.

Funerals for the eight dead were held on Saturday. About 18 people were also wounded in the attack.

A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, which indicated the attack targeted members of the Alawite sect.

Government officials condemned Friday’s attack and promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but haven’t yet announced any arrests.

Counter-protester Mohammed Ismail from Latakia blamed Alawites who benefited from the former system under the regime of ex-President Bashar al-Assad for sowing discord in the country.

“We are calling for one Syria and one people and they don’t want that,” he said. “They want to return us to chaos so they can benefit.”

During the reign of the al-Assad dynasty, Alawite Syrians were overrepresented in government jobs as well as in the army and security forces.

Governor Ahmed al-Shami says the religious leader is trying to play on people’s emotions to create chaos through his calls for Alawites to take to the streets and protest the government.

Al-Shami told Syrian state media that the right to demonstrate is available to everyone as long as it does not lead to destabilising the country.

Sunday’s deadly demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite leader living outside of Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and Abroad.

Social media footage verified by Al Jazeera depicted the moment a young Syrian was stabbed in the city of Latakia.

The clip, published by a local activist, shows the young man with a white flag inscribed with the Islamic declaration of faith while running in the Az-Zahari roundabout area.

Another protester then approaches the unidentified man and stabs him with a sharp object, causing severe bleeding. The condition of the stabbing victim is not immediately clear.

While many protesters have expressed support for Ghazal Ghazal – the head of the Islamic Alawite Council, who called for demonstrations – they have stressed they’re not backers of the former regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

“Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping?” asked Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader protesting in Latakia before the clashes.

Ghazal’s council has condemned what it called a systematic campaign of killings, forced displacement, detentions, and incitement against Alawites for more than a ‌year. It accused the Damascus authorities of responsibility and said continued attacks risk driving the country toward collapse.

“Al-Assad is gone and we do not support al-Assad … Why this killing?” asked Ramadan.

An Alawite demonstrator says they have taken to the streets “to demand our dignity”.

“We came to demand political federalism just like big states such as America, Germany and the [United Arab] Emirates,” Salman Mansour said.

“We came to ask for our right to live after we were killed in our lands,” he added.

Eight people were killed in an explosion at a mosque of the Alawite minority in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the blast as a “terrorist crime”. Countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Qatar, ‌also condemned the attack.

While demonstrations took place in Tartous and Latakia, in parallel, there were some Sunni groups also protesting and calling on the government to immediately initiate the process of transitional justice.

There are millions in this country who say the former regime committed atrocities, and many high-level former members involved in these crimes have still not been taken to court.

Meanwhile, the al-Assad dynasty that ruled over Syria for 54 years was part of the Alawite community here. That’s why many people, the majority of Syrians, are now also accusing the Alawites of not protesting against ex-President Bashar al-Assad while he committed these crimes against Syrians here.

Many from the Alawite community, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, they’re feeling excluded from the system. They have lost the privileges enjoyed during the decades-long rule of the regime.

So that’s why it’s an extremely huge challenge now for the government here. That’s why today we have seen, despite lots of provocations, the security forces trying to de-escalate the situation.

Social media footage circulated by activists and media platforms, and verified by Al Jazeera, captures gunfire erupting as demonstrators gathered in Latakia in northwestern Syria.

According to Syrian media reports, shots were fired towards internal security forces in the area. The number of casualties remains unclear.

At least three people have been reported killed and as many as 60 others wounded during protests that turned violent in several cities.

أتباع الإرهابي غزال غزال وفلول الاسد يعتدون على شاب pic.twitter.com/qRi51ADsL3

— عمر مدنيه (@Omar_Madaniah) December 28, 2025

About a dozen locations in Syria’s coastal region have witnessed protests.

The majority of the banners raised by the protesters demanded federalism, decentralisation and the release of detainees who were arrested by internal security forces for their affiliation with remnants of the former regime.

The arrests were based on the March clashes between remnants of the regime and Syrian government forces in some areas of the Syrian coast.

We have seen demonstrations kick off particularly in Latakia and Tartous. These are coastal cities where the majority of Alawites in the country live.

There were tight security measures, but later these protests became tense, and skirmishes and clashes started with the security forces. At least one member of the Syrian forces was killed along with two other unidentified people.

The divides are still in place whether they’re political divides or divides along sectarian or ethnic lines. So the government is having a difficult time really to keep the country together.

It’s expected these protests are going to be concluded soon, but we are seeing the government is sending more military vehicles and personnel to the hotspots.

Some of the people we have been talking to, they’re criticising Alawite leader Ghazal Ghazal, saying his calls to action are “clear provocations”. The civil war may be over; however, the scars, the wounds are still here.

Today’s demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite sheikh living outside Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and Abroad.

He urged Alawites in Syria to join peaceful mass marches from noon (09:00 GMT) until 5pm (14:00 GMT) to reject the recent killings in the Homs mosque attack while demanding a federal government system in Syria.

“We do not want a civil war, and it is our right to determine our destiny,” Ghazal was quoted as saying by Syrian media.

His call led to mass demonstrations in central and western parts of Syria, which resulted in clashes with security forces.