Government forces are being sent from Damascus to Latakia to counter the violence – BILAL AL HAMMOUD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Syria’s new rulers have been accused of carrying out massacres after a major uprising against their authority.
On Thursday night, more than 90 people were reported killed and dozens more wounded in fierce fighting in the north-west of the country, areas associated with support for the former regime of Bashar al-Assad.
The violence was said to have started following a “well-planned and premeditated attack” on government forces. It was the fiercest fighting seen inside Syria since the rebels ousted Assad.
Members of the Syrian forces battle against insurgents – Karam Al-Masri/Reuters
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization, reported that retaliatory attacks by government forces had occurred in the coastal town of Jableh and adjacent villages in the governate of Latakia.
Video also appeared to show government forces clashing with pro-Assad militia in the city of Homs.
On Friday, reports emerged of the new Syrian government, which is led by Islamist armed group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), sending substantial numbers of reinforcements to the area.
At the same time, videos and pictures appeared online seeming to show a number of different mass killings allegedly committed by government forces or fighters allied with the government.
In some cases, tens of bloodied bodies were seen, some with bound hands.
The new regime has for months been plagued by online misinformation emanating from former Assad allies, such as Russia, Hezbollah , and Iran alleging atrocities.
However, late on Friday, Syria’s interior ministry acknowledged “individual crimes” by gunmen entering the Latakia area who were not under government control. It said efforts were under way to prevent this and reassert control.
Update:
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that five separate massacres claimed the lives of 162 civilians in the Syrian coastal governorates earlier today, Friday, including women and children.
According to the Syrian Observatory, the vast majority of the victims were killed in field executions carried out by elements affiliated with the Ministry of Defense and Internal Security, “in an escalation that adds to the record of violations against civilians.”
This came after bloody clashes between security forces in Syria and militants in coastal areas.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had called on elements of the former Syrian regime to lay down their weapons, while indicating that “anyone who transgresses against civilians will be held accountable,” and said: “Our people in the coastal areas of the clashes are an important part of our homeland and it is our duty to protect them.”
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