Arab social media networks have circulated videos from Syria showing supporters of the new regime humiliating loyalists of former President Bashar al-Assad in an unprecedented manner. The footage depicts Assad supporters being forced to crawl on all fours while making strange noises.

The incidents follow overnight clashes between the security forces of the new regime, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and Assad loyalists. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 70 people were killed and dozens injured in the fighting.

The battles are concentrated around Jableh, a coastal city considered a stronghold of the Alawite community, to which the Assad family belongs. Al Jazeera reports that at least 15 security personnel from the new regime were killed in ambushes carried out by pro-Assad militants.