Hundreds have been killed in renewed fighting in Syria, as ethnic-minority Alawites battle against Islamist government forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that more than 180 people had been killed in two days of violence in the coastal region of western Syria, which is home to large numbers of Alawites, an Islamic sect to which former president Bashar al Assad belonged.
More than 20 Alawite men are reported to have been killed in the town of Mukhtareyah on Friday.
A prominent Alawite cleric, Sheikh Shabaan Mansour, 86, is also reported to have been killed with his son in the village of Sahlab.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said government forces would root out “remnants” of the Bashar al Assad’s government and bring them to trial. He also said anybody who persecutes civilians would be held accountable.
“We will continue to pursue the remnants of the fallen regime… We will bring them to a fair court, and we will continue to restrict weapons to the state, and no loose weapons will remain in Syria,” Sharaa said.
The Islamist regime claims the violence began when Assad loyalists launched a series of attacks on government forces on Thursday.
The regime is currently struggling to assert control over large areas of the country, including the western coastal region and in the southwest, where Israel has said it will prevent the deployment of government forces. The northeast of the country remains in the hands of US-backed Kurdish groups.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have both voiced their support for the interim government, while Russia, which was a close ally of Assad, called for an end to the bloodshed.