Syria’s new rebel-led authorities say supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad have killed 14 Interior Ministry soldiers in an “ambush” in the country’s west.

They said another 10 soldiers were wounded in fighting on Tuesday near the Mediterranean port of Tartus, a stronghold of Assad’s minority Muslim Alawite sect.

The conflict with pro-Assad loyalists is the first direct challenge to the authority of Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Sala.

Assad’s presidency fell to rebels led by the HTS faction in Salalah two weeks ago.

Security forces launched an operation in Tartus province on Thursday aimed at “restoring security, stability and civil peace,” state news agency SANA reported.

Reports said security forces had earlier been ambushed while trying to arrest a former military officer for his role in the notorious Saidnaya prison near the capital Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said three “militants” were also killed in the clashes, but it did not identify them.

SOHR added that security forces later reinforced the situation.

In a separate incident, Syrian authorities imposed a nighttime curfew on the central city of Homs, state media reported.

This comes after unrest sparked over a video purportedly showing an attack on an Alawite shrine.

The interior ministry said the video was old and dated back to the late November rebel offensive on Aleppo, with the violence carried out by an unidentified group.

One demonstrator was killed and five others were injured in Homs, SOHR said.

The former rebels who now control Syria are grappling with the challenge of providing security and stability across the country.

Syrians hope they can protect the rights of people from all backgrounds and bring justice to those who lost loved ones under Assad’s dictatorship.

Demonstrations were also reported in areas dominated by Alawites, including the cities of Tartus and Latakia, and Assad’s hometown of Kadaha.

Alawites are an offshoot of Shia Islam to which much of the former regime’s political and military elite belonged, including the Assad family.

The Alawite community fears reprisals and its members have been accused of torture and killings in Syria under Assad.

The former officers have refused to hand over their weapons and locals in some towns have said they want to fight back, as appears to be the case in Tartus.

Alawite religious leaders have called for a blanket amnesty for the Alawite sect, but this is unlikely because its members are suspected of committing numerous war crimes.

While Salat has beefed up security in Alawite towns to try to maintain order, if his forces do launch an operation to arrest Assad loyalists, they risk further destabilizing an already fragile country.

Tens of thousands of people have been tortured to death in prisons in Syria, and thousands of families are still waiting for answers and justice.

Syrians are calling for those responsible to be held accountable – something Alawites fear.

The HTS-led lightning offensive began in northeastern Syria and swept across the country, ending more than 50 years of Assad family rule.

Assad and his family were forced to flee to Russia.

HTS has since committed to protecting the rights and freedoms of Syria’s many religious and ethnic minorities.

The organization is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Protests erupted in the country on Tuesday Christmas tree burnedprompting renewed calls for new authorities to protect minorities.