Media reports say more than 1,000 people have been killed in two days of clashes between gunmen and security forces linked to Syria's new Islamist rulers and fighters from Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect in the country's coastal region.
Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (Observatory), Reuters reported on March 8 that the casualties included 745 civilians, 125 members of the Syrian security forces and 148 fighters loyal to Assad.
According to Reuters, Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Observatory, said the widespread killings in Jableh, Baniyas and surrounding areas in Syria's Alawite heartland amounted to the worst violence for years in a 13-year-old civil conflict. The victims included women and children from the Alawite minority, he said.
The new ruling authority on Thursday began a crackdown on what it said was a nascent insurgency after deadly ambushes by militants linked to former president Assad's government, Reuters reports.
The BBC reports that Syria's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to hold anyone involved in harming civilians accountable after days of clashes where Syrian security forces killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority.
According to the BBC, In a speech broadcast on national TV and posted on social media, Sharaa also promised to hunt down Assad loyalists.
France 24 reports that Syria's defense ministry announced on Monday the end of a major security operation in coastal provinces after days of violence.
In a statement on official news agency SANA, defense ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said security forces had neutralized security threats and “regime remnants” in Latakia and Tartus provinces on the Mediterranean coast.
The BBC says hundreds of Syrians gathered in Damascus to protest against the deadly violence in the country. Demonstrators reportedly congregated in Marjeh Square – also known as Martyrs' Square – with placards on Sunday.
Alawites, whose sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam, reportedly make up around 10% of Syria's population, which is majority Sunni Muslim.
