Death Toll Rises To 1,000 After Syrian Security Forces & Assad Loyalists Engage In Fierce Clash

Rest assured about Syria, this country has the characteristics for survival,

al-Sharaa said in a video at a mosque in Mazzah, Damascus

Many war criminals affiliated with the al-Assad regime and groups of armed remnants fled to the village,

the report added

Some of the unconfirmed list of the [new] cabinet are coming out and we’re seeing that there are Alawite members in the cabinet, Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs, Sunni, Shia, Muslims, Christians [which] is absolutely necessary for this country,

he added

The pictures coming out are indeed horrific. There is a high death toll, and the numbers are expected to increase in the coming hours and days because officials who have control of the area are still discovering [bodies]. As of now, it’s extremely difficult to clarify the exact number,

he said

There’s no water and no power for more than 24 hours, the factions are killing anyone who appears in front of them, the corpses are piled up in the streets. This is collective punishment,

the Latakia resident said

After they killed the father and his boys, they asked the mother to take her gold off, or they would kill her,

said the man who was close to the family but spoke under the condition of anonymity for his safety

We are fully committed to maintaining civil peace and protecting all citizens -- there will be no tolerance for any violations of this principle,

Kinivati was quoted by state TV as saying

Recent events show just how fragile #Syria's post-#Assad transitional period is -- and remains. Syrians in all corners are desperate to turn over a new leaf, but the costs of 13yrs of brutal conflict don't dissolve overnight. The pot boiled over."

Charles Lister, director of the Middle East Institute's Syria program, wrote in an X post on Saturday

The Secretary-General strongly condemns all violence in Syria and calls on the parties to protect civilians and cease hostilities. The Secretary-General is alarmed by the risk of escalating tensions among communities in Syria at a time when reconciliation and peaceful political transition should be the priority."

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General, said in a press statement on Friday

Tony Petrus and his son Fadi Petrus, two Antiochian Greeks, were killed today in the pogrom launched by HTS against the mixed Christian and Alawite region."

Greco-Levantines World Wide, a nonprofit, wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post on Friday

There is only one way forward for the coast and that it true inter-communal dialogues. Alawites must understand the Sunni experience while the new govt must start to empower genuine anti-regime Alawites (which absolutely exist, I've met them) to slowly erode the extremists."

Gregory Waters, a researcher at the Syrian Archive and analyst at Counter Extremist Project, wrote on X on Saturday

When we give up on our morals, us and our enemy end up on the same side."

In a Friday night address, Sharaa supported a crackdown in the area, and urged security forces to not exaggerate their responses, saying

A total of 353 Alawite civilians lost their lives in #Syria yesterday, and dozens more were injured with varying degrees of severity."

Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, wrote in an X post on Saturday

Interim gov't military ops on #Syria's Coast have been frozen & all roads shut in order to remove gunmen not under the command of the Defense & Interior ministries. 2 groups captured so far, while pro-#Assad attacks continue (3 in past hour)."

In an earlier X post he wrote

The father of Fr. Gregorios Bishara, priest of the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation, was martyred this morning at the hands of the pro-HTS armed factions that raided the city of Baniyas."

In a Saturday post, it noted

The Jableh area had the highest number of massacres and casualties, accounting for about 44% of mass killings (10 massacres), with human losses amounting to around 38% (133 individuals). This was followed by Banias and Haffah, each with a mass killing rate of approximately 18% (4 mass killings each).

In a follow up post, he added

We expect the death toll to be much higher,

Ghani added

The Syrian government confirms that its forces operate according to strict standards that respect international humanitarian law and are keen to protect civilians during their operations,

a ministry statement said

Why did you go to Syria? What did you do regarding Assad?"

he asked during the hearing

The victims of this massacre were all civilians - just civilians and not Assad loyalists,

said the man