Dec 30 (Reuters) – Syrian security forces imposed a curfew on Latakia city, a bastion of the country’s Alawite minority, state media reported on Tuesday, 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 Muslim Alawite community, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni-led government.
State media said the curfew was set to last from 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Tuesday until 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Wednesday.
Security forces reinforced their deployment in a number of neighborhoods 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 decentralized political system in Syria and the release of thousands of Alawite prisoners.
A similar protest in November lasted barely an hour before being confronted by a rival protest in support of Syria’s new government. Syrian security forces used gunfire to break up both.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam, Leila Bassam and Kinda Makieh, Editing by William Maclean)
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