More than 600 dead after 2 days of clashes in Syria between Assad loyalists, government forces

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 08, 2025 1:14 PM EST | Last Updated: 16 minutes ago

The decease toll from 2 days of clashes betwixt information forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to much than 600, a warfare monitoring radical said Saturday, making it 1 of the deadliest acts of unit since Syria's struggle began 14 years ago.

The clashes, which erupted Thursday, marked a large escalation successful the situation to the caller authorities successful Damascus, 3 months aft insurgents took authorization aft removing Assad from power.

The authorities has said that they were responding to attacks from remnants of Assad's forces and blamed "individual actions" for the rampant violence.

The revenge killings that started Friday by Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the authorities against members of Assad's number Alawite sect are a large stroke to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the overthrow of the erstwhile government. Alawites made up a ample portion of Assad's enactment basal for decades.

Residents of Alawite villages and towns spoke to The Associated Press astir killings during which gunmen changeable Alawites, the bulk of them men, successful the streets oregon astatine the gates of their homes. Many homes of Alawites were looted and past acceptable connected occurrence successful antithetic areas, 2 residents of Syria's coastal portion told the AP from their hideouts.

They asked that their names not beryllium made nationalist retired of fearfulness of being killed by gunmen, adding that thousands of radical person fled to adjacent mountains for safety.

Town residents talk of atrocities

Residents of Baniyas, 1 of the towns worst deed by the violence, said bodies were strewn connected the streets oregon near unburied successful homes and connected the roofs of buildings, and cipher was capable to cod them. One nonmigratory said the gunmen prevented residents for hours from removing the bodies of 5 of their neighbours killed Friday astatine adjacent range.

Ali Sheha, 57, a nonmigratory of Baniyas who fled with his household and neighbours hours aft the unit broke retired Friday, said that astatine slightest 20 of his neighbours and colleagues successful 1 neighbourhood of Baniyas wherever Alawites lived, were killed, immoderate of them successful their shops or successful their homes.

Sheha called the attacks "revenge killings" of the Alawite number for the crimes committed by Assad's government. Other residents said the gunmen included overseas fighters, and militants from neighbouring villages and towns.

"It was precise very bad. Bodies were connected the streets," arsenic helium was fleeing, Sheha said, speaking by telephone from astir 20 kilometres away from the city. He said the gunmen were gathering little than 100 metres from his flat building, firing randomly astatine homes and residents and, successful astatine slightest 1 incidental helium knows of, asked residents for their IDs to cheque their religion and their sect earlier sidesplitting them. He said the gunmen besides burned immoderate homes and stole cars and robbed homes.

Death toll has tripled 

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a warfare monitor, said that 428 Alawites person been killed successful revenge attacks successful summation to 120 pro-Assad fighters and 89 from information forces. The Observatory's main Rami Abdurrahman said that revenge killings stopped aboriginal Saturday.

"This was 1 of the biggest massacres during the Syrian conflict," Abdurrahman said astir the killings of Alawite civilians.

The erstwhile fig fixed by the radical was much than 200 dead. No authoritative figures person been released.

Roads starring to coastal portion closed

Syria's authorities quality bureau quoted an unnamed defence ministry authoritative arsenic saying that authorities forces person regained power of overmuch of the areas from Assad loyalists. It added that authorities person closed each roads starring to the coastal portion "to forestall violations and gradually reconstruct stability."

On Saturday morning, the bodies of 31 radical killed successful revenge attacks the time earlier successful the cardinal colony of Tuwaym were laid to remainder successful a wide grave, residents said.

Those killed included 9 children and 4 women, the residents said, sending the AP photos of the bodies draped successful achromatic cloth arsenic they were lined successful the wide grave.

Lebanese legislator Haidar Nasser, who holds 1 of the 2 seats allocated to the Alawite sect successful parliament, said that radical were fleeing from Syria for information successful Lebanon. He said helium didn't person nonstop numbers.

Nasser said that galore radical were sheltering astatine the Russian aerial basal successful Hmeimim, Syria, adding that the planetary assemblage should support Alawites who are Syrian citizens loyal to their country. He said that since Assad's fall, galore Alawites were fired from their jobs and immoderate erstwhile soldiers who reconciled with the caller authorities were killed.

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

The astir caller clashes started erstwhile authorities forces tried to detain a wanted idiosyncratic adjacent the coastal metropolis of Jableh, and were ambushed by Assad loyalists, according to the Observatory.