Syrian rebel commander visits Latakia province

The head of the rebel Free Syrian Army has visited the coastal province of Latakia, according to video footage, a show of force in President Bashar al-Assad’s family’s home province.

Several villages in Latakia, which is a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, have been overrun by Sunni Muslim insurgents over the past few days.

General Salim Idriss, who leads the rebel Supreme Military Council, was shown in a video uploaded to the Internet on Sunday wearing casual dress and a shoulder-strapped gun holster and standing outside with mountains in the distance.

Speaking to rebels, he said he was in Latakia to see the “important successes and victories that our revolutionaries have gained on the coastal front”.

Idriss’ forces are backed by the West, but the Latakia offensive is being led by two al Qaeda-linked groups who have killed hundreds of people this month and driven hundreds more to seek refuge on the Mediterranean coast.

Underfunded and fragmented, Idriss’ men have been overshadowed by these hardline groups and some more moderate rebel leaders have been killed in power struggles with al Qaeda affiliates that include foreign fighters.