The Syrian security forces allegedly killed hundreds of civilians belonging to the Alawit minority group in continuous violence along the coast of the country, according to the war control group.
The British Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (Sohr) said about 30 civilians were killed in about 30 “massacre” that were targeting Alawites on Friday and Saturday.
BBC News failed to check these claims independently.
Hundreds of people allegedly left their homes in the region – the heart of the delayed President Bashar Al -assad, which also belongs to the Alavite sect.
In the last two days, more than 1,000 people have been killed, Sohr said, in what is the worst violence in Syria since the rebels broke the Assad regime in December.
This figure includes dozens of government troops and armed people who have been loyal to Assad, who have been locked in conflicts in coastal Latakia and Tartous provinces since Thursday.
About 125 members of the Government forces under the guidance of Islamist and 148 Pro-Assad fighters were killed in violence, according to the SOHR report.
Sana’s spokesman told the SANA news agency that the Government re-established control after “treacherous attacks” against its security staff.
Violence left the Alawit community in “State of Horror”, an activist in the city BBC said on Fridaywith hundreds of people who allegedly flee the affected areas.
Large crowds sought refuge in a Russian military base in Hmeimim, Latakia, according to the Reuters News Agency.
The video of Reuters shared that dozens of people singing “people want Russian protection” outside the base.
In the meantime, dozens of families fled to neighboring Lebanon, according to local media.
The Special Envoy of the UN for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said he was “deeply concerned” for “very worrying reports of civilian victims” in Syria’s coastal areas.
He urged all sides to refrain from actions that could “destabilize” the country and endanger the “credible and inclusive political transition”.
Alawites, whose sect of offshoot is Shiite Islam, make up about 10% of the Syrian population, most of the Sunni Muslims.
