About 300 people arrested

BEIRUT, Dec 29 (AFP): Syria's new authorities have arrested nearly 300 people, including informants, pro-regime fighters and former soldiers, in a crackdown on loyalists to ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, a monitor said Sunday.

Since rebels led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group toppled Assad three weeks ago, ending more than five decades of family rule, the new authorities in Syria have intensified efforts to consolidate control.

The security forces of the new administration launched a large-scale operation on Thursday against Assad's militias.

"In less than a week, nearly 300 people have been detained in Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in Homs, Hama, Tartus, Latakia and even Deir Ezzor," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

The official Syrian news agency SANA, also reported arrests this week targeting "Assad militia members" in Hama and Latakia provinces, where weapons and ammunition were seized. It did not provide any figures.

Among those arrested, according to the Observatory, were former regime informants, pro-Iranian fighters and lower-ranking military officers accused of killings and torture, Abdel Rahman said.

The Observatory, which is based in Britain, relies on a network of sources across Syria.