A rebel fighter near a defaced picture of toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at  a military base in Damascus on Thursday —AFP

Alawites, to which many of the former regime's political and military elite belonged,  fear retribution for torturing and killing anti-Assad rebels

Agencies DAMASCUS

Violent clashes erupted in the Syrian village of Khirbet al-Ma'za in the southern countryside of Tartous, resulting in the deaths of 14 Public Security Forces personnel and three militants, according to the UK-based  Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Syrian war monitor.

The conflict began when a patrol team from the General Security Forces, under the Military Operations Department, attempted to apprehend Muhammad Kanjo Hassan, a former regime officer.

During the search for Hassan, the wanted man's brother and armed young men among  the officer's followers intercepted them and expelled the patrol from the village, set up an ambush for them near the village, and targeted one of the patrol cars, the SOHR said in a statement.

It  added that the Military Operations Department sent military reinforcements to arrest the militants in the village, and violent clashes took place with the Military Operations Department elements.

Syria's new rebel-led authorities said supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad killed the Interior Ministry troops in an "ambush" in the west of the country. They said 10  troops were wounded in the fighting on Tuesday near the Mediterranean port of Tartous, a stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite Muslim sect.

Just over two weeks ago, Assad's presidency fell to rebel forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction. In a separate development, the Syrian authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the central city of Homs, state media reported.

Reports say this followed unrest over a video purportedly showing an attack on an Alawite shrine. The Interior Ministry said the footage was old, dating back to a rebel offensive on Aleppo in late November, and the violence was carried out by unknown groups.

The SOHR said one demonstrator was killed and five wounded in Homs. Demonstrations were also reported in areas including the cities of Tartous and Latakia, and Assad's hometown of Qardaha.

Alawites are an offshoot of Shia Islam to which many of the former regime's political and military elite belonged, including Assad's family. The community is fearful of revenge, with members blamed for the torture and killings in Syria under Assad.

Former officers are refusing to hand over weapons and locals in some towns suggest they want to fight back, which appears to have been the case in Tartous.