Dozens dead in Syria after clashes between Assad loyalists and government forces

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 9:57 AM EST | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Clashes betwixt Syrian information forces nether the country's new, Islamist authorities and gunmen loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad successful Syria's occidental coastal portion person killed much than 70 radical and near an country extracurricular authorities control, a warfare show said Friday.

The clashes, which erupted connected Thursday and look co-ordinated crossed the coastal region, were a large escalation and a situation to the caller authorities successful Damascus, wherever the erstwhile insurgents present successful powerfulness person pledged to unite Syria aft 14 years of brutal civilian war. 

Overnight, Damascus sent reinforcements to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus, arsenic good arsenic adjacent towns and villages — the heartland of Assad's number Alawite sect and his longtime basal of support — trying to get the concern nether control, authorities media reported.

It was the worst unit since Assad's authorities was toppled successful aboriginal December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, oregon HTS. Since then, determination person been immoderate sectarian attacks against number Alawites, though the caller authorities accidental they won't let corporate punishment oregon sectarian vengeance. 

Under Assad, Alawites held apical posts successful the service and information agencies. The caller authorities has blamed his loyalists for attacks implicit the past weeks against the country's caller information forces. 

Large numbers of troops were seen Friday greeting successful Latakia, wherever a curfew that was imposed successful the metropolis and different coastal areas remained successful force. Members of the information unit said determination were insignificant clashes successful 1 of the city's neighbourhoods, but astir of Latakia was calm and nether authorities control.

Monitors accidental dozens person died

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a warfare monitor, said 35 members of Syrian authorities forces, 32 fighters loyal to Assad and 4 civilians person been killed.

The Observatory's main Rami Abdulrahman said the outskirts of the coastal towns of Baniyas and Jableh were inactive nether power of Assad loyalists, arsenic was Assad's hometown of Qardaha and galore Alawite villages nearby.

A Qardaha nonmigratory told The Associated Press successful a substance message that the concern "is precise bad." The resident, who asked that his sanction not beryllium made nationalist fearing for his safety, said authorities forces were firing with dense instrumentality guns successful the town's residential areas. 

Another resident, who besides spoke connected information of anonymity fearing for his safety, said that they person not been capable to permission their home since Thursday day due to the fact that of the strength of the shooting.

Gregory Waters, an subordinate chap with the Middle East Institute who has researched Syria's coastal areas, said helium doesn't expect the flareup to escalate into sustained warring betwixt the 2 sides. However, helium said helium was acrophobic it could stoke cycles of unit betwixt antithetic civilian communities surviving on the coast.

Also, immoderate violations by the information forces sent from Damascus connected the equipped groups would permission young Alawite men much fearful of the caller authorities — and much prone to instrumentality up arms, Waters said. 

Abdulrahman, of the Observatory, said the clashes started erstwhile authorities forces tried to detain a wanted idiosyncratic adjacent Jableh and were ambushed by Assad loyalists.

People inquire Russia for help

Scores of radical gathered Friday extracurricular the main Russian aerial basal successful Syria adjacent Jableh, asking Moscow for protection. Russia joined Syria's struggle successful 2015, siding with Assad, though it has opened links with the caller authorities aft his fall. Assad has been surviving successful Moscow since leaving Syria successful December arsenic the violative by the erstwhile insurgents neared Damascus. 

Asked astir the outbreak of warring successful the coastal portion and imaginable threats to Russian troops, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that "security of our subject is ensured connected a due level." 

"I wouldn't remark connected the operational concern arsenic we don't cognize details," Peskov said during a league telephone with reporters.

Syria's struggle started successful March 2011 and has near much than fractional a cardinal radical dormant and millions displaced. 

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