Syria’s leader Ahmed Sharaa has called for peace after days of clashes where Syria security forces allegedly killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) – which monitors fighting in Syria – said about 745 civilians were killed in 30 “massacres” targeting Alawites on the west coast on Friday and Saturday.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the death toll of the escalating violence, believed to be the worst since the fall of the Assad regime.
President Sharaa said: “We must preserve national unity and civil peace as much as possible and… we will be able to live together in this country.”
The number of fighters killed in the past four days brings the total death toll to more than 1,000 people, says the Syrian Observatory. This included about 125 fighters linked to the new Islamist-led government and 148 pro-Assad fighters.
Reuters news agency reported sources in the new Syrian government saying at least 200 of the fighters had been killed.
Speaking from a mosque in Damascus on Sunday, the interim president said “what is currently happening in Syria is within the expected challenges”.
He did not comment directly on accusations that atrocities were being committed by his supporters in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.
On Sunday, Syrian media reported that fighting between government forces and Assad loyalists had also broken at a gas power plant in Banias, a city about halfway between Latakia and Tartus.
The violence of recent days has been sparked after ambushes on government forces on Thursday. A Syrian defence ministry spokesman described it to the Sana state news agency as “treacherous attacks” against security personnel.
It has since escalated into a wave of clashes between Assad loyalists and government forces.
Credit: bbc.com
