The international alarm is growing on the fight in Syrian Western, where, according to reports, hundreds of civilians have been killed amid intense clashes between the new government of the country and loyal to the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad. The pro -government forces have been accused of killing dozens of residents in revenge.
In a Saturday update, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a War Monitor based in the United Kingdom that tracks the casualties, reported that 1,018 people have been killed in the last two days, including 745 civilians who, he says, were killed in “sectarian massacres” by the fighters loyal to the new government.
The reports have not been independently confirmed by ABC News.
The smoke rises while the members of the Syrian forces travel in a vehicle while fighting a nascent insurgency by combatants of the Alauito sect of the leader expelled from Bashar al-Assad, in Latakia, Syria on March 7, 2025.
Karam al-Masri/Reuters
The fight, the worst violence since Assad was demolished three months ago, has reached the areas on the western coast of Syria, in the old Heartland of Assad around Latakia and Tartus, where the Assad Loyal gunmen ambushed the security forces of the new government on Thursday.
The relatives and neighbors attend the funeral procession for four members of the Syrian Security Force murdered in confrontations with loyal presidents expelled Bashar Assad on the coast of Syria, in the town of Al-Janoudiya, west of Idlib, Saturday March 8, 2025. (Ap Photo/Omar Albam)
Omar Albam/AP
The new government security forces, together with thousands of armed pro -government combatants, have reached the region, colliding with loyal.
The coastal area is the home of the alauita minority to which Assad belonged and that are now the objectives of the mass murders reported.
Associated Press spoke with the residents of Alaruitas peoples and peoples, who said that armed men carried out Alauitas revenge murders, mostly men, in the streets. They said some houses were looted and lit.
The members of the Syrian Security Forces verify a car while fighting a nascent insurgency by the combatants of the leader expelled from the Alawita de Bashar al-Assad sect, in Latakia, Syria, on March 7, 2025. Reuters/Karam al-Masri
Karam al-Masri/Reuters
Together with the civil casualties, the War Monitor reported that 125 members of the Government Security Forces have been killed together with 148 militants associated with loyal.
In addition, electricity and drinking water were largely cut in nearby areas for the second consecutive day, the observatory said. Given the interruptions and the “deterioration of the security situation”, bakeries and markets have also closed, the observatory said.
The interim leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Shara, addressed the country on Friday, blaming violence for people loyal to the old regime and saying they were trying to prove the new Syria through the agitation of restlessness and fragmentation. He called for calm and ordered his security forces not to allow excesses. He said anyone who damages civilians would be responsible.
Syrian army staff meets while they are heading towards Latakia to join the fight against combatants linked to the leader expelled from Syria, Bashar al-Assad, in Aleppo, Syria, March 7, 2025. Reuters/Mahmoud Hassano
Mahmoud Hassano/Reuters
The representative of the United Kingdom for Syria, Ann Snow, requested restriction.
“Deeply worrying developments: restriction And also a clear path to responsibility And transition justice is essential for the peaceful inclusive political transition that all Syrians deserve, “he said In an X post on Friday.
