Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa urged national unity and peace Sunday following reports that more than 1,000 people were killed in the deadliest clashes along the country’s coast since Bashar Assad’s ouster.
The violence erupted Thursday between the new security forces and loyalists of the former government along the Mediterranean coast in the heartland of the Alawite minority to which Assad belonged.
It has since escalated into the largest challenge to the new government's forces since al-Sharaa's HTS-led coalition toppled Assad in December.
"We must preserve national unity (and) civil peace as much as possible and, God willing, we will be able to live together in this country," al-Sharaa said from a mosque in Damascus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor has reported that 745 Alawite civilians were allegedly killed in Latakia and Tartus provinces.
The fighting has also killed 125 members of the security forces and 148 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Observatory, taking the overall death toll to 1,018.
The official SANA news agency reported Saturday that security forces had deployed to Latakia, as well as Jableh and Baniyas further south, to restore order.
Defence ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said the security forces had "reimposed control" over areas that had seen attacks by Assad loyalists.
"It is strictly forbidden to approach any home or attack anyone inside their homes," he added in a video posted by SANA.
Education Minister Nazir al-Qadri announced that schools would remain shut Sunday and Monday in both Latakia and Tartus provinces due to the "unstable security conditions."
SANA reported a power outage throughout Latakia province due to attacks on the grid by Assad loyalists.
The deaths followed clashes sparked by the arrest of a wanted suspect in a predominantly Alawite village, the Observatory reported.
The monitor said there had been a "relative return to calm" in the region on Saturday, as the security forces deployed reinforcements.
A Defense Ministry source told SANA that troops had blocked roads leading to the coast to prevent "violations," without specifying who was committing them.
Latakia province security director Mustafa Kneifati told the news agency: "We will not allow for sedition or the targeting of any component of the Syrian people."
Al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in December, has vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.
The Alawite heartland has been gripped by fear of reprisals for the Assad family's brutal rule, which included widespread torture and disappearances.
Social media users have shared posts documenting the killing of Alawite friends and relatives.
The leaders of Syria's three main Christian churches, as well as the spiritual leader of Syria's Druze minority, issued statements calling for an end to the violence.
Aron Lund of the Century International think tank said the violence was "a bad omen."
