The Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made a statement regarding the events in the city of Latakia and its surroundings in Syria. Minister Fidan stated, “We see that the policy sustained by the Syrian government for weeks without falling into any provocation is being derailed by a provocation.”

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, and the Head of MIT (National Intelligence Organization) Ibrahim Kalın attended a meeting in Amman with the foreign and defense ministers of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, as well as the chiefs of staff and intelligence services. Following the meeting, Minister Fidan addressed the media about the events in Syria.

Regarding the events in Latakia, Fidan said, “We see that the policy sustained by the Syrian government for weeks without falling into any provocation is being derailed by a provocation.”

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN LATAKIA? The death toll is rising in the events occurring in Latakia and its surroundings in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the death toll has exceeded a thousand. It was noted that more than 700 victims were civilians killed at close range. It was announced that 148 pro-Assad elements and 125 members of the Syrian government forces were killed in the clashes. The director of the Human Rights Observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, had previously stated that the majority of the deceased civilians were Nusayris.

HOW DID THE EVENTS IN LATAKIA BEGIN? The events in Latakia and its surroundings are claimed to have been triggered by an attack by elements of the Assad regime on security forces. In this attack that took place in the Jableh district of Latakia on March 6, 11 security officers were killed. Following the attack, the Syrian army dispatched reinforcement units consisting of hundreds of vehicles to Latakia and Tartus. An operation was initiated to capture the elements of the Assad regime.