Unrest is brewing in Syria’s coastal plains, home to the Assad family’s Alawite sect. Earlier this week, a group of regime loyalists staged an ambush on the now-governing rebel forces, killing 14. With the Shia Alawite sect making up only 10 percent of the population in the majority Sunni country,

Syria's new authorities have arrested nearly 300 people, including informants, pro-regime fighters and former soldiers, in a crackdown on loyalists to ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, a monitor said Sunday.