Syria’s deadliest bloodshed in years: Over 600 dead as new government battles Assad loyalists

In one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago, the death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, along with subsequent revenge killings, has crossed 600, according to a war monitoring group on Saturday.

The escalating clashes have posed a major challenge facing the new government in Damascus, which took power three months ago after insurgents removed Assad.

The government has said that it was responding to attacks by remnants of Assad’s forces and attributed the widespread violence to “individual actions.”

The revenge killings, initiated on Friday by Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government against members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect, have dealt a major blow to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the overthrow of the former regime. Alawites had been a core part of Assad’s support base for decades.

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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.

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”.

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.

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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.

The Britain-based Observatory 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 rights group 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.”

With inputs from agencies