The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported that 340 Alawite civilians have been killed in clashes between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces and pro-Bashar al-Assad groups in Syria. The clashes, which began on Thursday, are still ongoing.
HTS, which has been transformed into the Syrian army, announced yesterday that it had aunched an operation against “regime remnants” in the coastal cities of Tartus and Latakia, where most of the Alawite population resides.
According to France 24, SOHR confirmed that 340 civilians had been killed by security forces and their allies. The Observatory stated that these civilians had been executed by government-aligned fighters or security forces, or killed during looting.
In addition to civilian casualties, SOHR reported that 93 members of the new government’s security forces and 120 pro-Assad fighters had also been killed, bringing the total death toll in the country to 553.
Syrian state news agency SANA reported earlier today that “regime remnants” had attacked a hospital in the coastal city of Latakia, but security forces managed to repel the attack.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed El Shara, called on insurgents in his speech yesterday to “lay down your arms and surrender before it’s too late.”
