UK crossbow killer Kyle Clifford sentenced to life for triple murder
Clifford is sentenced to life in prison for three ‘brutal and cowardly’ murders of Carol Hunt, 61, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28. A former British soldier who used a crossbow and a knife to murder three women at their family home north of London has been sentenced to a whole-life order, meaning that he would never be released from prison. Kyle Clifford, 26, was imprisoned for life for each of the three “brutal and cowardly” murders of Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of BBC sports commentator John Hunt, and their two daughters Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28. He was convicted of three counts of murder, one of false imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons. He was also found guilty of raping Louise Hunt, his ex-partner, during the “carefully planned” attack on the family. Justice Joel Bennathan handed down the sentence in Clifford’s absence on Tuesday after he refused to attend the hearing at Cambridge Crown Court in east England. “The evidence I have heard shows you to be a jealous man soaked in self-pity – a man who holds women in utter contempt,” Bennathan said. Prosecutors said Clifford planned the murders for days after becoming enraged when an increasingly concerned Louise ended their 18-month relationship. Advertisement During the case, the jury was shown evidence that Clifford gained access to the family home in the quiet residential neighborhood of Bushey, northeast of the capital, by deceiving Carol Hunt on the pretext he was returning Louise’s belongings, before brutally stabbing her to death. Clifford “lay in wait” for an hour for Louise to enter the house, before restraining, raping and murdering her with a crossbow. He then fatally shot Hannah Hunt when she returned to the property after work. Following the murders, police launched a manhunt for the suspect before he was found injured the following day in a cemetery in Enfield, north London. Clifford had shot himself in the chest with the crossbow. He remains in a wheelchair, having been paralysed from the chest downwards. Ahead of the sentencing, John Hunt said he had wanted to deliver his victim impact statement “eye to eye with Kyle”. “When I challenged myself about how you were able to deceive us all, I simply say that you are a psychopath who, for the duration of your time together with Louise, was able to disguise yourself as an ordinary human being,” John Hunt told the court. “I hope women round the world will take Louise’s bravery as a shining beacon for their lives,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says imposing 50-percent tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium
US President Donald Trump has announced he will double planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports to 50 percent, escalating a trade war with the United States’s northern neighbour. In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Trump said the increased tariffs come in response to a decision by the province of Ontario to put a 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to some US states. He said the increased tariffs on steel and aluminium would come into effect on Wednesday. “The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. US-Canada relations have plummeted amid Trump’s push to impose steep tariffs on a range of Canadian goods and his repeated threats to annex the country. The US president has said the tariffs – some of which came into effect last week – are part of an effort to balance the countries’ trade relationship. However, the Canadian government has rejected the measures as “unjustified” and unveiled retaliatory levies. Advertisement On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that his government would impose a 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to the US states of Michigan, Minnesota and New York. Ford – who has taken a strong line against Trump’s economic policies – told reporters that Ontario electricity powers 1.5 million American homes and businesses in those US states. The surcharge, the premier said, would cost families and businesses as much as $276,000 (400,000 Canadian dollars) per day. “Let me be clear, I will not hesitate to increase this charge. If necessary, if the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely,” Ford said. The US stock market plunged this week amid the uncertainty around Trump’s economic and trade policies. Canada and the US are major trading partners, with the US importing $412.7bn from its northern neighbour in 2024, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. American exports to Canada that same year totalled $349.4bn. Canada tops the list of foreign suppliers of both steel and aluminium to the US, with imports of $19.5bn last year, according to data from S&P Global. “While steel represents a significant portion of total US imports, the country depends far more on Canadian aluminum to meet domestic demand,” the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said in a recent factsheet. It said US tariffs on steel and aluminium could lead to job losses in Canada, while retaliatory measures by the Canadian government could raise prices for consumers. Advertisement Despite concerns that a prolonged trade war with Canada could raise prices for Americans and hurt the US economy, the Trump administration has defended its tariff policy as necessary to close a trade deficit between the two countries. In his Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump warned Canada that if it did not drop its tariffs on US goods, his administration would increase planned reciprocal levies set to take effect in early April. That “will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada”, Trump said. “Those cars can easily be made in the USA! Also, Canada pays very little for National Security, relying on the United States for military protection. We are subsidizing Canada to the tune of more than 200 Billion Dollars a year. WHY??? This cannot continue.” Larry Summers, a veteran economist and former US Treasury secretary, slammed the increased tariffs as Trump’s “worst trade policy yet”. “Increasing the price of key inputs for the US manufacturing industries–who employ 10 million people–is what a US adversary would do,” Summers wrote on X. “It is a self-inflicted wound to the US economy that we cannot afford, at a moment when recession risks are rising.” The Canadian government did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to formally step down in the coming days to allow the new leader of his governing Liberal Party, Mark Carney, to step in as the country’s next prime minister. Advertisement Carney has promised to take on Trump and deepen Canada’s relationships with other trading partners. “We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” he said during his Liberal leadership victory speech on Sunday. “So the Americans, they should make no mistake – in trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.” Adblock test (Why?)
Protesters denounce arrest of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil
NewsFeed Protesters in the US have marched to demand the release of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil after immigration forces detained him on Saturday over his role in the pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia University. Published On 11 Mar 202511 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Arrested on ICC warrant: What was Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’?
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, has been flown to the Hague hours after being arrested in the capital Manila on Tuesday. The ICC warrant seen by Reuters accuses Duterte of criminal responsibility for the murder of at least 43 people between 2011 and 2019 as part of his war on drugs as mayor of the southern city of Davao and later as the president between 2016 and 2022. Duterte wanted his trial to take place in a court in the Philippines. “If I committed a sin, prosecute me in Philippine courts,” he told police officers while in custody in Manila. Here’s what we know about Duterte’s war on drugs and the reactions of families of victims. What was Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’? Rodrigo Duterte built his reputation as “the punisher” while he was the mayor of Davao for more than 20 years, though he served intermittently. During his on-and-off tenure, more than 1,000 people were killed, including suspected drug users and dealers. Rights organisations have accused Duterte of running a “death squad” as mayor, a position that he held until his last term ended in 2016. Advertisement His pledge to launch a nationwide crackdown on drug gangs became the feature of his successful presidential campaign in 2016. Just after taking oath as president on June 30, 2016, Duterte vowed to solve the country’s illegal drug problem within six months.“I don’t care about human rights, believe me,” he later declared. He also offered soldiers and police his “official and personal guarantee” of immunity from prosecution for deaths undertaken in the performance of their duties. On July 1, 2016, the first full day of Duterte’s presidency, police carried out anti-drug operations across the country, killing at least 12 people and ushering in a bloody campaign for the next six years that would leave some 7,000 people dead, including women and children. By December 2016, more than 5,000 people had been killed across the country, including 2,041 drug suspects slain in police operations, according to data gathered by Al Jazeera. The other victims were killed by unknown gunmen, some of whom would later turn out to be police officers. In Duterte’s first few months in office, many of the victims were found bound, their remains dumped in polluted creeks, garbage dump sites and grasslands. By the end of his term in 2022, human rights advocates and the ICC prosecutor estimated some 30,000 people were killed by police and unidentified individuals. But police only reported 7,000 deaths during police operations, omitting those killed by unknown perpetrators. What was the public’s reaction to the war on drugs? Throughout his presidency, Duterte enjoyed a high approval rating from the public, allowing him to push for his brutal anti-drug war agenda. Advertisement Right after he took office in 2016, he received an approval rating of 86 percent. And just before he left office in 2022, his approval rating was at 73 percent, according to a Pulse Asia survey. At every turn, Duterte’s pronouncement about his bloody war on drugs was cheered on by an adoring public. In 2017, a national assembly of city and provincial legislators roundly applauded when he said there was nothing he could do if poor people were killed in his war on drugs. He also complained that the media were “treating victims as saints” and “innocent people”. An Amnesty International report in 2017 found that most of the people who were killed were living under the poverty line. The report said that police officers also confessed to receiving reward money equivalent to $150 to $300 for every drug suspect they killed, creating an “incentive to kill”. Surviving Duterte’s war on drugs While many of the victims in the drug war met their untimely death, a few have survived to tell the tale of police executions and abuse. In September 2016, Francisco Santiago Jr told Al Jazeera that he and another man were detained by police in Manila, before they were brought to a darkened alley and shot multiple times. Santiago’s companion, George Huggins, was killed on the spot. But Santiago stumbled on the ground and played dead. He got up after journalists came to the scene, and his rescue was dramatically caught on camera. His testimony to the media was later included as evidence in the complaint filed before the ICC. Advertisement Roger Herrero met a similar fate in 2018. The young father of four from Quezon Province was shot by police at point-blank range, shattering his jaw. He was accused by police of robbery, and of attempting to flee using a motorcycle. But Herrero’s wife later told photojournalist Ezra Acayan that the victim does not even know how to ride a motorcycle. Herrero also played dead to survive, and only managed to get up and ask for help after the police left. In another case in 2017, the Commission on Human Rights found a hidden cell inside a police station in Manila with 12 detainees cramped inside. The agency said that there was no record of their arrest and the police failed to notify their families or lawyers about their disappearance. In 2021, the government dismissed the complaint against the police officers, accused of the illegal detention. Children not spared As of June 2020, four years into Duterte’s drug war, an estimated 129 children had been killed by police or allied assailants, according to a Reuters news agency report that cited an activist group. One of the youngest to have been killed was three-year-old Myca Ulpina, who was hit during a 2019 raid targeting her father in the Rizal Province just outside of Metro Manila. Police claimed that the child was used as a “shield” during the operation. On Negros Island in the central Philippines, four-year-old Althea Fhem Barbon was also killed after police fired at her and her father while they were on a motorbike. Police claimed that her father was a drug dealer. Advertisement One of the most
A ‘dangerous’ moment: Advocates denounce arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil
Free speech groups point out that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Khalil of leading “activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization”. But analysts note that the department’s allegation falls short of more tangible claims. US law, for instance, prohibits anyone in the country’s jurisdiction from providing “material support” to terrorist organisations. The rationale provided for Khalil’s arrest, experts argue, was overly broad and could be wielded against any voices critical of Israel and US foreign policy. “It’s a loophole so big that you could drive a truck through it,” Will Creeley, the legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech group, told Al Jazeera. “I think what’s perhaps most dangerous about this moment is that, given the rhetoric coming out of the administration today, folks across the country are going to think twice before they criticise the government, whether it’s the US government or Israeli government, and that chill is a real problem,” he added. The effort to connect criticism of Israel with support for terrorism also appears to mirror Project 2025, a controversial series of policy proposals for Trump’s second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank. The document drew alarm for its expansive interpretations of executive power, as well as its views on issues like the pro-Palestinian protest movement. One Project 2025 proposal states that pro-Palestine protests are part of a “highly organized, global Hamas Support Network (HSN) and therefore effectively a terrorist support network”. Greer has told media outlets that, when she spoke with ICE agents over the phone, they appeared to have incorrect information about Khalil’s immigration status, informing her they were going to revoke his student visa. Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia until December, was previously in the US on a student visa but has since obtained a green card, making him a lawful permanent resident of the country. Greer said that, when she informed ICE agents that he was a permanent resident, they said his green card would be revoked instead. Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil speaks to media on the Columbia University campus on April 29, 2024 [Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo] Nithya Nathan-Pineau, a policy lawyer with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, told Al Jazeera that green card status can be revoked under some circumstances, such as the discovery of fraudulent information in an immigration application or certain criminal activity. “I haven’t seen any information about criminal convictions or arrests,” she said. “It sounds like the ICE agents just unilaterally decided that whatever immigration status he had, it didn’t matter.” Greer said that she and Khalil’s wife were told he was being held in an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, but when they arrived, he was not there. Khalil has reportedly been moved to a detention centre in Louisiana. “This is a tactic that ICE loves to use, transferring someone to a facility that is further away from their legal assistance, community and loved ones,” said Nathan-Pineau. “It increases the psychological strain of detention.” Greer has challenged Khalil’s detention, and a federal court is scheduled to hear the case on March 12. Adblock test (Why?)
Why China isn’t as worried about Trump’s trade war as in 2018
Taipei, Taiwan – As United States President Donald Trump kicks off a new trade war with China, analysts say he will face a much stronger and more prepared adversary in Beijing compared with his first term in office. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has already imposed a 20 percent tariff on Chinese imports, citing Beijing’s alleged failure to curb the export of the deadly opioid fentanyl to the US. The tariff comes on top of previous duties imposed by Trump and former US President Joe Biden on more than $400bn worth of Chinese goods. After condemning the latest US tariffs as “bullying” and “intimidation,” Beijing hit back last week by announcing tariffs of 10-15 percent on numerous US agricultural goods, including corn, beef, pork, dairy and soybeans. The tariffs, which went into effect on Monday, followed Beijing’s announcement last month of a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, pick-up trucks, and some cars, and a 15 percent tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas. Advertisement “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jiang told reporters last week. While the tit-for-tat measures recall Trump’s first trade war in 2018, both Washington and Beijing are facing very different conditions today than seven years ago. The world’s two biggest economies have steadily decoupled in recent years, reducing their mutual dependency and blunting the impact of tariffs, according to analysts. Christopher Beddor, a deputy China research director at the Beijing-based Gavekal Dragonomics, said the latest tariffs should be “pretty manageable” for China, and noted that they are significantly below the 60 percent rate threatened by Trump during his election campaign. “I don’t want to understate the impact – that’s almost a tripling of the effective tariff rates for Chinese goods that are coming into the United States, so it’s big,” Beddor told Al Jazeera. “But Chinese exports into the United States are a pretty modest share of its overall economy,” Beddor said. Declining trade share China’s share of total US trade – measured as the sum of exports and imports – dropped from 15.7 percent to 10.9 percent between 2018 and 2024, according to Bloomberg. Over the same period, the US’s share of China’s total trade fell from 13.7 percent to 11.2 percent. Lynn Song, chief Economist for Greater China at ING, said Beijing is not likely to be panicking over the tariffs – at least for now. Advertisement “While avoiding this sort of trade friction would’ve been preferable, it’s something that’s been planned for, so I wouldn’t say there’s a feeling of panic,” Song told Al Jazeera. “With that said, with every tariff escalation, there inevitably will be parts of trade which become unviable and companies that will be impacted.” Another factor mitigating the impact of tariffs, Lynn said, is that Chinese exporters such as Shein and Temu have found success selling low-cost goods directly to customers by taking advantage of a tariff exemption on shipments worth less than $800. Beijing has continually rolled out measures to insulate the economy from any trade shocks. At the “Two Sessions” meetings last week in Beijing, the National People’s Congress – the highest body of state power in China – announced several fiscal stimulus measures, including raising the debt level for local governments and issuing 1.3 trillion yuan ($179bn) in long-term treasury bonds. Carsten Holz, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said Beijing’s domestic policy moves have given it a significant buffer against US demands. “Even the effect of a complete Trump ban on imports from China – hardly realistic in an age when, for example, the bulk of iPhones are produced in China – may not make a dent larger than a fraction of a percentage point in China’s GDP,” Holz told Al Jazeera. “For an authoritarian leadership determined to project strength, this is unlikely to be enough to join what may look to the Chinese public like ‘peace talks’ with a foreign aggressor.” Advertisement Some analysts believe that despite its stronger position compared with 2018, Beijing still wishes to negotiate with Trump – at least for the moment. ‘Avoiding escalation’ One of the strongest signals that Chinese officials are open to talking is that their opening round of tariffs was relatively mild and restricted to a limited number of goods, suggesting a strategy of “avoiding escalation,” said Even Rogers Pay, a food and agricultural analyst at the Beijing-based research group Trivium China. “The retaliation demonstrates that while China’s government doesn’t intend to take trade pressure lying down, they are also not going to be baited into an escalatory trade conflict where early overreaction could make striking a deal more difficult,” Pay told Al Jazeera. “Instead, by applying moderate tariffs to a short list of key industries, Beijing is ramping up political pressure in the red states that are major exporters of corn, soybeans, sorghum and other farm products that they hope will bring Trump to the table.” Beijing may be angling for a “phase two” deal along the lines of the “phase one” deal struck with Trump in 2020 to bring an end to the first trade war, Pay said. Under the phase one deal, China pledged to buy $200bn in US goods and services, including agricultural products, over two years. Beijing, however, only fulfilled about 58 percent of this amount after trade was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Peterson Institute for Economic Research. John Gong, a professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, agreed that China can withstand the pressure but is also ready to negotiate. Advertisement “The government in China is, of course, worried, but won’t back down in a humiliating way. They would love to negotiate a deal, but if it can’t, they would have a ‘so-be it attitude’,” Gong told
Israeli warplanes attack military sites in Syria’s southern Deraa province
Syrian and Israeli media report air attacks on southern Deraa province targeting military sites of former Bashar al-Assad regime. Israeli military aircraft have carried out attacks in Syria’s southern province of Deraa, according to media reports and a monitoring group, in the latest attacks targeting military positions of the former Bashar al-Assad regime. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said the attacks on Monday night hit two towns in the north of Deraa, which is located 103km (64 miles) south of the capital Damascus. “Israeli occupation aircraft carried out several strikes on the surroundings of the towns of Jbab and Izraa in the north of Deraa,” SANA reported. The UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17 strikes by Israeli fighter jets hit two military positions located in the towns: the former regime’s Artillery Regiment 89 and the 12th Brigade. No casualties have been reported so far, the observatory said. Israeli media outlet Channel 14 said the air attacks targeted al-Assad regime army outposts, weapons depots, radars, tanks and artillery that rebel groups in Syria were “trying to take over”. Advertisement Since the overthrow of Syrian President al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory, Israel’s military carried out more than 500 air attacks on targets in Syria between December 8 and December 31, 2024, and has carried out 21 documented attacks so far this year. Most Israeli attacks have targeted facilities and weapons once held by the toppled regime’s forces in what Israel has said is a bid to prevent military assets from falling into the hands of forces hostile to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that southern Syria must be completely demilitarised, warning also that his government would not accept the presence of the forces of the new government in Damascus, headed by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, near Israeli territory. Since the removal of al-Assad, Israel’s military has entered and taken control of territory inside a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israel and Syria in the occupied Golan Heights since 1974. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine announces plan to boost FPV drone arsenal
Ministry of Defence says it will buy 4.5 million first-person view drones in 2025, triple last year’s amount. Ukraine has announced plans this year to buy about 4.5 million first-person view (FPV) drones, one of the most inexpensive and potent weapons in its war effort against Russia. In a statement on Monday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said it would allocate the equivalent of more than $2.6bn for the purchases. Hlib Kanevsky, director of the ministry’s procurement policy department, said Ukraine had purchased more than 1.5 million drones in 2024, 96 percent of which were bought from Ukrainian manufacturers and suppliers. “This year, the figures will be even higher because the capabilities of the domestic defence industry in 2025 are approximately 4.5 million FPV drones,” Kanevsky said, adding that the ministry “plans to purchase them all”. Small and cheap, FPV drones are controlled by pilots on the ground and often crash into targets while laden with explosives. In April, a NATO official said FPV drones that cost less than $1,000 had destroyed two-thirds of Russian tanks worth millions. Advertisement Ukraine became the world’s largest major arms importer from 2020 to 2024, the period when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine’s imports increased nearly 100 times over the previous four-year period. The country, which is seeking strong security guarantees from its partners before agreeing to any peace talks with Russia, is developing its own defence industry to reduce its dependence on its Western allies. It plans to also build long-range drones. The statement said the ministry for the past three years has purchased most of its drones in the country while the number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) supplied to its armed forces had increased significantly. Kanevsky also said all procurement plans for this year have received money in the budget, which will ensure that the front line is supplied with UAVs as soon as possible. Both Russia and Ukraine have come to rely on cheaper and more effective alternatives to conventional artillery during the three-year conflict. In a separate statement on Monday, Kyiv’s top general, Oleksandr Syrskii, said Ukrainian drones had destroyed 22 percent more targets last month compared with January, but added that Russian forces were also adapting. “We simply have no right to lag behind the enemy in those areas of technological warfare where we should be arming and strengthening ourselves by our own resources,” Syrskii said. Adblock test (Why?)
Pro-Russian candidate to challenge bar on Romanian presidential run
The move follows rioting in Bucharest overnight after a court threw far-right Calin Georgescu out of the race. Romania’s far-right presidential contender Calin Georgescu plans to challenge a decision to bar him from taking part in May’s rerun presidential election. The pro-Russian politician said on social media on Monday that he would make an appeal to Romania’s Constitutional Court to lift the ban, which was placed on him the previous day. He made the announcement after violent clashes broke between his supporters and police in Bucharest overnight. “We go together all the way for the same values: peace, democracy, freedom,” Georgescu said in a video posted on Facebook. The appeal, and the unrest in the capital, follow an announcement on Sunday by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) that it had rejected the NATO critic’s candidacy for the election on May 4. Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for president, speaks to the media [File: Alexandru Dobre/AP] Shortly after the BEC’s announcement, Georgescu supporters gathered in front of the electoral commission’s headquarters. Faced by a significant police presence, the protest turned violent, as participants broke through security barricades. A broadcast van belonging to a television station regarded as supporting Georgescu’s rivals was overturned, and fires were lit. Police responded with tear gas as rioters threw cobblestones and fireworks. Advertisement Some posts on social media claimed that Romania was descending into turmoil, suggesting that events could spark a revolution or cause the closure of borders. In the United States, CBS News described the country as tipping into “chaos“. However, the violence and numbers at the protests were limited. ‘European dictatorship’ The controversy surrounding the Moscow-friendly Georgescu has placed Romania in the midst of the rift between Europe and the administration of US President Donald Trump over military spending and the nature of democracy. Georgescu secured poll position in the first round of the election in November, but the vote was later annulled owing to evidence of suspected Russian interference. US Vice President JD Vance has claimed that the move illustrated Romania does not share US values. The EU has praised the independence of the country’s courts. Georgescu, who is currently under criminal investigation on numerous counts, including for communicating false information about campaign financing, has claimed that the ruling shows that Europe is turning into a “dictatorship”, and warned that “if democracy falls in Romania, the entire democratic world will fall”. If the BEC decision is upheld, the three ultranationalist parties that backed Georgescu’s previous bid for the presidency – parties that hold 35 percent of the seats in the Parliament of Romania – risk having no candidate in the election. Adblock test (Why?)
Syria clashes – what happened?
The government of Syria says it has ended an operation in the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartous after four days of fighting between security forces and pro-Assad armed fighters. The unrest came only three months after the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in an offensive by opposition fighters. Reports from the Latakia region told of killings, kidnappings, theft, harassment and even public murders. So, what happened and who did this? Here’s what we know about the violence: What’s happening in Syria? On March 6, government forces began deploying to the coastal cities of Syria, including Latakia, Banias, Tartous and Jableh to fight what they dubbed “regime remnants”. The “remnants” are pro-Assad regime fighters who have announced their opposition to the new government. The Alawite religious sect, from which Bashar al-Assad hails, is concentrated in these cities. How did it start? On March 6, pro-Assad gunmen ambushed military personnel in and around Latakia in the northwest, killing at least 16 members of the security forces and the Ministry of Defence. Advertisement According to state media, the March 6 ambushes were not the first, with several past attacks on government forces since al-Assad fell. How many people have been killed or injured? Numbers are still emerging, but here’s what we know. According to a March 9 report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 1,311 people have been killed as of Saturday evening – some 830 were civilians, 230 security personnel from various branches, and about 250 armed fighters. Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify SOHR’s numbers. (Al Jazeera) Why this area in particular? The Latakia-Tartous axis lies along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, with Banias and Jableh lying between them. These two Alawi-majority governorates have long been considered al-Assad strongholds, with the family’s hometown, al-Qerdaha, lying east of Latakia. When al-Assad fell, observers feared there would be revenge attacks against the Alawite community. This may be why “regime remnants” chose to attack there – possibly hoping to inflame sectarian tensions. Banias also hosts Syria’s largest oil refinery. Armed fighters tried to attack the refinery, security forces said, but were repelled. Who’s fighting? State security troops confronted armed groups led by former officers in al-Assad’s army. There are also unidentified groups who went to the coast to “avenge” the ambushed security forces, an unidentified security official told Syria’s state news agency. The presence of these individuals, the official said, had “led to some individual violations and we are working on stop them”. Advertisement Alawite community members said armed groups have been harassing and kidnapping Alawite civilians. The Syrian government estimates there are 5,000 armed individuals in the coastal area. Who are these ‘regime remnants’? Videos on social media since February show former al-Assad army officer Muqdad Fteiha declaring the formation of a group to counter “HTS violations” in the coastal region. Fleiha, who was in al-Assad’s Republican Guard, claims in his message that the Alawite community is mistreated. Other statements on social media, attributed to former al-Assad army Brigadier General Ghiath Suleiman Dalla, declared the formation of a “Military Council for the Liberation of Syria” to “expel all occupying terrorist forces” and “dismantle the repressive sectarian security apparatus”. What did Syria’s government say? The escalating violence presented a huge challenge for Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. On Sunday, al-Sharaa announced two new committees to deal with the crisis. One is an independent committee of judges and lawyers to investigate the March 6 attacks and the violence that ensued and hold those responsible accountable, in pursuit of “higher national interest and civil peace”. The second is a “Supreme Committee for Civil Peace”, tasked with engaging with the residents of the affected areas and safeguarding their security. Earlier on Sunday, he spoke at a Damascus mosque, acknowledging the severity of the crisis and calling for national unity. Advertisement On Friday, March 7, he reaffirmed in a televised address his commitment to stability, and promised to pursue regime loyalists responsible for crimes and to consolidate state control over weapons. How are civilians doing in these areas? People are scared, panic has taken over the coastal regions. “I don’t ever go outside and I don’t even open the windows… There is no security here. There is no security for Alawis,” a resident of Latakia who chose to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera. Those who remain speak of living in terror, fearing that armed fighters will attack them in their homes. This piece was published in collaboration with Egab. Adblock test (Why?)