BEIRUT (AP) — Fighters siding with Syria's new government stormed three villages near the country's coast, killing dozens of men in response to recent attacks on government security forces by loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad, a war monitor said.
The clashes, which erupted Thursday and continued Friday, marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government in Damascus, where former insurgents now in power have pledged to unite Syria after 14 years of civil war.
Overnight, Damascus sent reinforcements to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus and nearby villages that are home to Assad’s minority Alawite sect and make up his longtime base of support.
It was the worst violence since Assad’s government was toppled in early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Since then, there have been some sectarian attacks against minority Alawites, though the new authorities say they won’t allow collective punishment or sectarian vengeance.
Under Assad, Alawites held top posts in the army and security agencies. The new government has blamed his loyalists for attacks against the country’s new security forces over the past several weeks.
The most recent clashes started when government forces tried to detain a wanted person near the coastal city of Jableh and were ambushed by Assad loyalists, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
As the fighting raged, gunmen loyal to the new government stormed the villages of Sheer, Mukhtariyeh and Haffah near the coast, killing 69 men but harming no women, according to the observatory.
“They killed every man they encountered,” said observatory chief Rami Abdurrahman.
Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV also reported the attacks on the three villages, saying that more than 30 men were killed in the village of Mukhtariyeh alone.
Meanwhile, Syria's state news agency SANA quoted an unidentified security official as saying that numerous people went to the coast seeking revenge for the recent attacks on government security forces. The official said the actions "led to some individual violations and we are working on stop them.”
Large numbers of government troops were seen Friday morning in Latakia, where some minor clashes erupted, according to security forces. A curfew remained in effect in the city and other coastal areas.
Geir O. Pedersen, the United Nations special envoy for Syria, said in a written statement that “all parties should refrain from actions that could further inflame tensions, escalate conflict, exacerbate the suffering of affected communities, destabilize Syria, and jeopardize a credible and inclusive political transition.”
Nearly 150 have died since the clashes began
Nearly 150 people have been killed since the clashes broke out Thursday, the observatory said. In addition to the 69 killed in the villages, the dead include 37 members of Syria's government forces, 34 fighters loyal to Assad and seven civilians.
The civil war that has been raging in Syria since March 2011 has left more than half a million people dead and millions displaced.
As of Friday, the observatory said, the coastal towns of Baniyas and Jableh were still under the control of Assad loyalists, along with other Alawite villages nearby and Assad’s hometown of Qardaha, in the mountains overlooking Latakia.
One Qardaha resident told The Associated Press in a text message that government forces were firing with heavy machine guns in the town's residential areas. Another said people have not been able to leave their homes since Thursday afternoon because of the intensity of the shooting. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
The fighting could stoke more sectarian tensions
Gregory Waters, an associate fellow with the Middle East Institute who has researched Syria’s coastal areas, said he doesn't expect the flareup to escalate into sustained fighting between the two sides. However, he said he was concerned it could stoke cycles of violence between different civilian communities living along the coast.
Also, any violations by the security forces sent from Damascus would leave young Alawite men more fearful of the new government — and more prone to take up arms, Waters said.
Syrian people ask Russia for help
Scores of people gathered Friday outside the main Russian air base in Syria near Jableh to ask Moscow for protection. Russia joined Syria's conflict in 2015, siding with Assad, although it has since established links with the new government. Assad has been living in Moscow since leaving Syria in December.
Asked about the fighting and possible threats to Russian troops, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that “security of our military is ensured on a proper level.”
“I wouldn’t comment on the operational situation as we don’t know details,” Peskov told reporters in a conference call.
A warning from Turkey
Turkey, which backed the insurgents when Assad was still in power, warned on Friday that the current fighting poses a serious threat to the new government.
“Intensive efforts are underway to establish security and stability in Syria," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said in a post on X. "At this critical juncture, the targeting of security forces could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity.”
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Associated Press writer Omar Albam in Latakia, Syria, contributed to this report.
By Bassem Mroue And Abby Sewell, The Associated Press
