DAMASCUS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A deadly attack on a Sunni Bedouin couple in central Syria's Homs province triggered widespread unrest on Sunday, prompting authorities to deploy security forces, impose a curfew, and urge residents to avoid retaliatory violence amid fears of sectarian escalation.

The unrest followed the early Sunday discovery of a man and his wife from the Bani Khalid Bedouin tribe, killed inside their home in the town of Zaidal, with the woman's body partially burned. Sectarian-charged graffiti was found at the scene, according to interior authorities.

Murhaf al-Naasan, head of the Internal Security Forces in Homs, condemned the attack as a "heinous crime" aimed at igniting communal discord. Security units launched an immediate investigation, he said, calling on residents to remain calm and allow authorities to identify and detain the perpetrators.

Within hours, armed tribesmen from the victims' community carried out retaliatory assaults in the predominantly Alawite al-Muhajirin neighborhood of Homs city, burning houses, damaging vehicles, and firing shots randomly, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The group said the violence left multiple civilians dead or wounded, with residents barricading themselves indoors as gunfire and arson spread across several districts. Shops shuttered across affected neighborhoods amid what witnesses described as "uncontrolled chaos," including isolated incidents of kidnapping, according to the Observatory.

Local witnesses quoted by the monitoring group said security forces struggled to establish control in the early phase of the unrest as violence spread across parts of the city.

Faced with rapid escalation, authorities imposed a citywide curfew from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., according to state media. Security units expanded their presence in Zaidal and several southern areas of Homs, setting up checkpoints, conducting foot and vehicle patrols, and tightening the security cordon around affected neighborhoods.

Interior authorities said the measures were part of a broader plan to "guarantee public safety, prevent any exploitation of the incident to incite sedition, and preserve public and private property."

Mustafa Dahman, head of the al-Bayyada sector overseeing parts of the unrest-hit area, said the curfew may be extended depending on developments on the ground, urging residents "not to be drawn into sectarian incitement" by the graffiti left at the crime scene.

Syrian information authorities chief Hamza al-Mustafa said on X that the attack appeared designed to pull residents into sectarian confrontation by exploiting preexisting sensitivities.

Al-Mustafa added that the authorities place civil peace at the top of their priorities, noting that consolidating it requires "transitional justice, accountability, and community reconciliation."

Interior authorities spokesperson Noureddin al-Baba said late on Sunday that the situation in Homs was "moving toward stability," adding that there was no concrete evidence the killing was sectarian in nature.

As of late Sunday, authorities had not released official casualty figures from the subsequent unrest, though witnesses reported multiple injuries and significant property damage.

The incident marks one of the most serious security flare-ups in Homs in recent months, raising concerns over the potential for localized tensions to spark broader instability if not contained. ■