Damascus/Syria: Over 70 individuals lost their lives and many others were injured in Syria due to clashes between government security forces and militants aligned with ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, according to a war monitoring organization reported on Friday.
“More than 70 killed and dozens wounded and captured in bloody clashes and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defense and Interior and militants from the defunct regime’s army,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a post on X.
Fighting erupted on Thursday between government forces and loyalists of Assad, resulting in the deaths of 48 individuals in the coastal town of Jableh and nearby villages. This violence is reported to be “the most severe assault against the new authorities since Assad was overthrown” in December.
The total number of casualties amid the recent unrest remains uncertain. According to the Observatory’s report on Thursday, pro-Assad fighters claimed the lives of 16 security personnel, while 28 fighters supporting the ousted president and four civilians were also reported dead.
Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, said that in “a well-planned and premeditated attack, several groups of Assad militia remnants attacked our positions and checkpoints,” targeting patrols in the Jableh area.
The attacks resulted in “numerous martyrs and injured among our forces”, he added without providing the number of casualties.
Kneifati said security forces would “work to eliminate their presence”.
“We will restore stability to the region and protect the property of our people,” he declared.
The earlier fighting was in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, the heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority who were considered bastions of support during his rule.
