Death toll from fighting in Syria's coastal region tops 1,000
A war monitor says 745 civilians have been killed by forces of new interim government in Syria over the course of three days.
IRNA - Clashes in Syria’s western coast, pitting forces of the interim government against loyalists of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, have reportedly left 1,018 people dead, mostly civilians.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor that has been tracking developments in the Arab country over the past years, announced the figure in an update Saturday, two days after fighting broke out in the coastal region.
The group said those killed include 745 civilians whom it said were killed in "sectarian massacres" by fighters loyal to the new government.
The fighting, which has gripped the provinces of Latakia and Tartus, broke out after residents there protested against the policies of the interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa whose militant group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive in December last year, which toppled Assad’s government.
The violence is the worst in Syria since Assad was ousted.
Meanwhile, the caretaker interior ministry said on Saturday that a former commander of the Assad government had been arrested.
