At least 41 people have been killed in clashes between fighters loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad who fled rebel attacks in Syria and security forces loyal to the country's current administration.

The British media outlet BBC reported this information on Friday (March 7).

The BBC reported that Syrian security forces loyal to the new government in Damascus clashed with remnants of the ousted Assad government in a coastal area in the northwest of the country.

The number of government soldiers among the dead was 13. A curfew has been imposed in the area following the clashes in the country's Latakia province.

At least 13 soldiers were killed in clashes near a Russian-controlled air base in Latakia province, state TV reported. A curfew was later clamped there until Friday morning. This is the most violent attack on forces loyal to the Islamist government in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December last year.

Clashes continue in the coastal region, the heartland of the Alawite community and a stronghold of the Assad family. Alawite activists said their community has been subjected to violence and attacks since Assad's fall, especially in remote areas of Homs and Latakia.

Syrian state news agency SANA said government forces were advancing on the town of Jableh with a large military buildup following the clashes.

Earlier on Thursday night, the Syria-based Step news agency reported that pro-government forces had killed about 70 former government fighters loyal to Assad and captured more than 25 fighters in and around Jableh.

However, AFP news agency, citing observers, said 28 gunmen loyal to Assad had been killed in the clashes. It was also reported that government forces were using helicopters to attack targets. The BBC could not independently verify these figures.

Syrian Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani issued a warning to Assad loyalists via state media.

He said that thousands of people have decided to surrender their weapons and return to their families, while others are insisting on fleeing to protect murderers and criminals and facing death. Now the choice is theirs, lay down your weapons or face the inevitable consequences.

Latakia province has become a major security challenge for Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. He is also facing resistance in the south of the country. Clashes have also occurred there in recent days between security forces.

Tensions are rising over the US and European positions on the Ukraine issue. In the meantime, about 20 countries including Canada, France and the UK are also discussing the possibility of sending a ‘peacekeeping force’ to Ukraine. However, Russia sees such a move as a ‘direct military attack’.

On Thursday (March 6), European leaders united with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels, Belgium. They told Zelensky that Europe is stronger than Russia. They are ready to defend Ukraine.

According to a live report by the UK-based Sunday Times, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the Brussels conference that Europe is stronger than Russia militarily, economically and strategically. We just need to strengthen this belief.

A new military plan also proposes deploying 120 European fighter jets in western Ukraine. Known as ‘Sky Shield’, the plan would block enemy cruise missiles and drones over Ukraine’s Kiev, Odessa and Lviv regions. However, it would remain outside the scope of NATO.

The proposed plan is similar to the attempt to create a ‘no-fly zone’ in Ukrainian airspace at the beginning of the war, but this time the emphasis is on implementing it.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that about 20 countries are interested in forming a ‘Coalition of the Willing’. This alliance would provide security assistance to Ukraine.

A British government spokesman said, ‘Europe and the UK should come together to help Ukraine and we are implementing it.

Meanwhile, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said that his country is ready to send troops to Ukraine. He said, ‘Canada is interested in participating in a peacekeeping force led by the UK and France. However, security conditions need to be discussed.

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that the US will no longer provide intelligence to Ukraine. However, France has come forward in this regard. The country is providing military intelligence to Ukraine.

French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu said, our intelligence system is independent. We are providing Ukraine with the necessary information.

Meanwhile, Russia has reacted strongly to the plan to deploy peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. The country's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that Moscow would view any European peacekeeping force sent to Ukraine as a "direct military attack."

He said, this would be tantamount to NATO openly engaging in war against Russia, which we will never accept.

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina must face trial for crimes against humanity, said Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh. He said this in an interview with Sky News' Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch.

British media outlet Sky News published the interview on Wednesday (March 5).

In an interview with Sky News, Professor Yunus said that there will be a trial. Not only her (Hasina), but also all those associated with her - her family members, her clients or associates.

Sheikh Hasina is currently in exile in India after being ousted from power in a student uprising. She is accused of overseeing a network of secret detention centers. Where political opponents were brought for interrogation, tortured and some were killed. Hasina did all this under the banner of the 'war on terror'.

Bangladesh has issued two arrest warrants against Hasina. Professor Yunus said Bangladesh has sent a formal letter requesting Hasina's arrest but has not received any formal response from New Delhi.

However, he stressed that Sheikh Hasina will face the court either physically present in Bangladesh or in absentia in India.

Professor Yunus recently visited one of the infamous secret prisons known as the ‘Ayina Ghar’. The chief adviser said he was shocked by what he saw. He described it as the ugliest thing.

Sheikh Hasina is accused of using her security forces and police to oversee the abduction, torture and killing of hundreds of activists.

Hasina has denied the allegations, saying she is being politically persecuted.

The chief adviser said Sheikh Hasina and her close associates are accused of overseeing a network of more than 800 secret prisons, many of whom have fled Bangladesh. He said it would take time to work out the number and scope of those involved in the crimes.

Dr. Yunus said, "Everyone was involved in this. The entire government (Hasina's government) was involved in this. So you cannot differentiate who was doing this. On whose orders they were doing this and some did not support these things but did these things out of compulsion." He also said, "Some people will be punished. Some people will be under investigation. Some people will not be identified. Justice will be ensured in these cases by maintaining international standards. There will be no rush in the trial. Everyone involved in the crime will be punished."

Twelve people have been killed in twin suicide bombings at a military base in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a report by Al Jazeera on Tuesday (March 4).

A military officer who witnessed the incident told Al Jazeera that two explosive-laden vehicles drove into the compound on Tuesday evening, followed by an explosion. The blast also caused the roof of a nearby mosque and a house to collapse.

Muhammad Noman, a spokesman for Bannu District Hospital, said 12 people were killed and at least 30 others were injured. All were civilians. They were trapped under collapsed buildings and walls.

A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying dozens of Pakistani security forces were killed. There was no immediate comment from the military on the number of casualties.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said six attackers were killed in a shootout after the attack. He added that the blast created two four-foot-long craters and was so powerful that it damaged at least eight houses in the area.

The Jaish al-Fursan group, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said in a statement that the source of the explosion was a vehicle loaded with explosives.

It is worth noting that this is the third attack in Pakistan since the start of the holy month of Ramadan last Sunday.