AP PHOTOS: Syria's new security forces conduct sweeps in Homs, looking for ousted Assad's loyalists

AP PHOTOS: Syria’s new security forces conduct sweeps in Homs, looking for ousted Assad’s loyalists

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Forces were looking for militants affiliated with ousted President Bashar Assad, according to state media. (AP video by Ghaith Alsayed)

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People stand outside their homes at a residential area as members of the new security forces take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government stand in guard as they take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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A member of the new security forces fires a heavy machine gun into the sky to display strength during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the new security forces take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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People stand outside their homes as members of the new security forces take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, at a residential area, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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A member of the new security forces detains a man suspected of being part of militias of the ousted president Bashar Assad, during an operation at a residential area in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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People stand in line before members of the new security forces check their IDs during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, at a residential area, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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People stand in line as members of the new security forces check their IDs during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, at a residential area, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the new security forces search an apartment during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, at a residential area, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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A member of the new security forces destroys a diploma with an image depicting the late Syrian President Hafez Assad during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, at a residential area, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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A member of the new security forces searches an apartment during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, at a residential area, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government stand on a armoured vehicle next to the people as they take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the new security forces move on the top of a tank during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad, in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the new security forces reload a heavy machine gun during an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the new security forces detain men suspected of being part of militias of the ousted president Bashar Assad, during an operation on a residential area in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government detain a man suspected of being part of militias of the ousted president Bashar Assad, during an operation on a residential area in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad at a residential area in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Detained men, suspected of being part of militias of the ousted president Bashar Assad, are driven in a bus as members of the new security forces take part in an operation to detain them on a residential area in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Young men cheer as members of the new security forces, primarily fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), fire into the air in celebration after spending most of the day searching for militiamen loyal to ousted President Bashar Assad who refused to surrender their weapons to the new authorities in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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By GHAITH ALSAYED and LEO CORREA

HOMS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s new security forces deployed in tanks on Thursday in the city of Homs to search for militia members and former soldiers loyal to ousted President Bashar Assad who have refused to surrender their weapons.

Over 100 people were detained.

The armed fighters with the Islamist group that led Assad’s ouster and now controls much of Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, conducted searches in alleyways and entered homes. They said they were working in coordination with the interim Interior Ministry.

The HTS fighters seized weapons and destroyed certificates linked to the Baath party, Assad’s former ruling faction.

Outside, men lined up against walls for identity checks.

The HTS fighters, some partially covering their faces, detained suspected Assad loyalists and loaded them onto trucks.

Some residents, including children, cheered for the fighters and chanted “God is great.”

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, citing a military official, said the HTS-led authorities had established centers in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, to allow former soldiers and militia members to surrender their weapons. This voluntary surrender and handover of weapons has occurred in other parts of the country since Assad fled to Russia in early December.

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Since then, Syria’s new security forces save arrested officials who under Assad worked with his notorious web of intelligence and security branches.

“We received information from the residents that there are members of former regime militias here who refused to give up their weapons and were terrorizing the residents,” said Abu Muhammad, an official with the General Security Department who did not give his full name in accordance with regulations.

“Following the instructions of the leadership and the military operations administration, we followed the members, arrested them and transferred them to the relevant departments,” he said.

It was not immediately clear what would happen to those arrested next.

A resident of the Wadi Al-Dahab neighborhood, Nael Al-Asaad, said the HTS fighters inspected his legally licensed hunting rifles “and returned the rifles with full respect.”

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Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.