About 200 people, including eight women, were arrested by regime forces in the coastal city of Banias on Monday, local activists said.
Regime media confirmed the arrests, stating that authorities had detained "a number of terrorists” and had confiscated a large cache of weapons and ammunition, as well as communications and military equipment.
The regime has refrained from providing any clear reason for the mass arrests in the coastal city.
On May 2, 2013, the Syrian army and its allied militias stormed the city of Banias, looting and brutally killing between 150-200 people. The massacre followed a rebel attack on a bus carrying loyalist shabeeha in which seven militants died and dozens more were injured.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
