The clashes that broke out on Thursday were the fiercest since Assad — himself an Alawite — was toppled in a lightning rebel offensive in December, and came after days of tensions in Latakia province that forms part of the heartland of the religious minority.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that “340 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal regions of Syria and the Latakia mountains by security forces and allied groups” since then.
The Britain-based Observatory said they were killed in “executions” carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters” and accompanied by “looting of homes and properties”.
The civilian deaths bring the overall toll to 553 people, including 93 members of the new government’s security forces and 120 pro-Assad fighters, data from the Observatory shows.
The killings followed clashes sparked by the arrest of a wanted individual by security forces in a predominantly Alawite village, the Observatory reported. The monitor said there had been a “relative return to calm” in the region on Saturday, but that security forces were continuing sweeping operations and deploying reinforcements.Early on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported that the security forces had repelled an “attack by remnants of the ousted regime” on the national hospital in the coastal city of Latakia.
A defence ministry source later told SANA that forces had blocked the roads leading to the western coastal area to prevent “violations”, without specifying who was committing them.
The news agency also reported that security forces were deployed in the city of Latakia, as well as Jableh and Banias further south, to restore order.
– Call to surrender –
In an address on Friday, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa urged the insurgents to “lay down your weapons and surrender before it’s too late”.
On Saturday the security director of Latakia province Mustafa Kneifati called on civilians “not to be drawn into incitement”, in remarks to SANA.
Western powers and Syria’s neighbours have emphasised the need for unity in the new Syria, which is seeking funds for reconstructing a nation ravaged by years of civil war under Assad.
The coastal region has been gripped by fears of reprisals against Alawites for the Assad family’s brutal rule, which included widespread torture and disappearances.
Social media users have shared posts documenting the killing of their Alawite friends and family members, with one user saying her mother and brothers were all “slaughtered” in their home.
AFP could not independently verify these accounts.
The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, has reported multiple “massacres” in recent days, with women and children among the dead.
“The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the Ministry of Defence and the Interior,” the monitor said on Friday.
The Observatory and activists released footage showing dozens of bodies in civilian clothing piled outside a house, with blood stains nearby and women wailing.
Other videos appeared to show men in military garb shooting people at close range.
AFP could not independently verify the images.
The United Nations envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, decried “very troubling reports of civilian casualties”.
He called on all sides to refrain from actions which could “destabilise Syria, and jeopardise a credible and inclusive political transition”.
Aron Lund of the Century International think tank said the violence was “a bad omen”.
The new government lacks the tools, incentives and local base of support to engage with disgruntled Alawites, he said.
“All they have is repressive power, and a lot of that… is made up of jihadist zealots who think Alawites are enemies of God.”
