Syrian rebels are killed in battles as they try to arrest an Assad official accused of issuing execution orders for thousands of prisoners

Six Syrian rebels have been killed in clashes with supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad as they tried to arrest a former government official, a UK-based war monitor reports.

A number of Islamists, who led the charge on Damascus earlier this month, were wounded in fighting on Wednesday as they tried to detain an official they say has issued execution orders and arbitrary sentences against thousands of prisoners for regime.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the fighters were from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the stunning offensive that toppled Mr. Assad with the fall of Damascus on December 8.

Syria’s transition has been surprisingly smooth, but it has only been a few weeks since Mr. Assad fled the country and his administration and forces disappeared.

The insurgents who ousted Mr. Assad are rooted in fundamentalist Islamist ideology, and while they have promised to create a pluralist system, it is unclear how or if they plan to share power.

Since Mr. Assad’s fall, dozens of Syrians have been killed in reprisals, according to activists and monitors, the vast majority of them from the minority Alawite community, a branch of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs.

In the capital, Damascus, Alawite protesters clashed with Sunni counter-protesters and gunfire was heard. The Associated Press could not confirm details of the shooting.

Alawite protests also took place along Syria’s coast, in the city of Homs and in rural Hama.

Some called for the release of former Syrian army soldiers now imprisoned by HTS.

At least one protester was killed and five wounded in Homs by HTS forces suppressing the demonstration, the Syrian Observatory said.

In response to the protests, HTS imposed a shutdown from 6:00 PM to 8:00 AM.

The Alawite protests were partly sparked by an online video showing the burning of an Alawite shrine.

Provisional authorities insisted the video was old and not a recent incident.

Sectarian violence has flared since Assad’s ouster, but nothing close to the level feared after nearly 14 years of civil war that has killed an estimated half a million people.

The war has fractured Syria, creating millions of refugees and displacing tens of thousands across the country.

In a call to bring the Syrian diaspora back home, the interim government has given assurances that minorities in Syria’s diverse demographics will be protected.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed Al Jolani has steadily distanced himself from his al-Qaeda affiliation, reinventing himself as a statesman.

In the last days of the conflict, messages to the troops published in English appeared to be aimed at reassuring the international public of his intentions to govern according to the principles of the rule of law.

In a recent interview with BBCAl Jolani, also known as Ahmed al-Sharaa, called for the lifting of sanctions against Syria.

He said that HTS should be eliminated as a terrorist organization and that it was wrong to confuse the victim with its oppressor.

He said that during the conflict, HTS avoided civilian areas and denied that it wanted to turn Syria into something akin to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, noting their precedent of getting women into education.

“We have had universities in Idlib for more than eight years,” he said.

The caretaker government created a number of new roles in its cabinet, including a Minister of Women’s Affairs, Aisha al-Dibs.

Asked if alcohol would be legal in the new state, he said it was not a question for him to decide personally.

“There’s a lot of things I’m just not allowed to talk about because they’re legal matters.”

He said there would be a “Syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution.” They will decide. And any leader or president will have to respect the law’.

The BBC noted that many Syrians, still reeling from 13 years of civil war and living under Assad’s tyrannical regime, do not believe him.

Allies of interim Prime Minister Mohamed al-Bashir also highlighted their intentions to “establish a nation built on the principles of nationalism, justice and the rule of law”, aiming for a “technocratic state where institutions are respected and equal opportunities to be guaranteed for all’.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Kouky told the BBC that Syrians are looking to the future and seeking peace.