BEIRUT (AP) — The death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, as well as subsequent revenge killings, has risen to more than 600, according to a war monitoring group, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago. The clashes, which erupted on Thursday, marked a significant escalation in the challenge to Damascus’ new government, three months after insurgents took power following Assad’s removal.

The previous figure given by the group was more than 200 dead. No official figures have been released.

A funeral was held Saturday afternoon for four Syrian security force members in the northwestern village of Al-Janoudiya after they were killed in the clashes along Syria’s coast. Scores of people attended the funeral.

Official reports say Syrian forces regaining control

Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government began killing members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect on Friday, causing a significant blow to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the overthrow of the former government. The government blamed the violence on “individual actions” of the Assad forces.

Retribution killings among Sunnis and Alawites Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government began executing members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect on Friday, dealing a severe blow to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the movement that led the Syrian government’s overthrow. For decades, Alawites were a major component of Assad’s support base.

Residents of Alawite villages and cities told The Associated Press about killings in which gunmen shot Alawites, mostly men, in the streets or at their homes’ gates. Many Alawite homes were robbed and then set on fire in various regions, according to two residents of Syria’s coastal region who spoke with the AP from their hideouts. They requested that their names not be made public for fear of being assassinated by gunmen, noting that thousands of people have fled to surrounding mountains seeking refuge.

Residents speak of atrocities in one town

strewn across the streets or left unburied in homes and on building roofs, and no one was able to collect them. According to one witness, the gunmen delayed people from collecting the bodies of five of their neighbors who were killed at close range on Friday for hours. Ali Sheha, a 57-year-old Baniyas resident who left with his family and neighbors hours after the violence began on Friday, stated that at least 20 of his neighbors and colleagues in one neighborhood of Baniyas where Alawites
lived were slaughtered, either in their shops or in their houses. Sheha described the attacks as “revenge killings” against the Alawite minority for crimes done by Assad’s government. Other residents reported that the gunmen comprised foreign fighters and extremists from neighboring villages and towns.

“It was extremely bad.” Bodies were on the streets” when he fled, Sheha reported via phone from almost 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the city. He claimed that the gunmen were assembling less than 100 meters from his apartment building, firing randomly at residences and occupants, and in at least one instance, asking residents for their IDs to check their religion and sect before executing them. He claimed the gunmen also burned down homes, stole automobiles, and robbed others.

The death toll has increased.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in Britain, reported that 428 Alawites, 120 pro-Assad militants, and 89 security forces had been slain in reprisal assaults. The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdurrahman, stated that revenge killings ceased early Saturday. “This was one of the biggest massacres during the Syrian conflict,” Abdurrahman stated of the deaths of Alawite people.

The prior statistic provided by the group was more than 200 deceased. There have been no official figures given. Four Syrian security forces men were killed in skirmishes near Syria’s coast, and their funeral was held Saturday afternoon in the northwestern village of Al-Janoudiya. Many individuals attended the funeral.

Official sources claim Syrian soldiers are regaining control

Syria’s state news agency quoted an unnamed Defense Ministry official as saying that government forces have regained control of much of the areas from Assad loyalists. It added that authorities have closed all roads leading to the coastal region “to prevent violations and gradually restore stability.” On Saturday morning, the bodies of 31 people killed in revenge attacks the day before in the central village of Tuwaym were laid to rest in a mass grave, residents said. Those killed included nine children and four women, the residents said, sending the AP photos of the bodies draped in white cloth as they were lined in the mass grave.

Lebanese legislator Haidar Nasser, who holds one of the two seats allocated to the Alawite sect in parliament, said that people were fleeing from Syria for safety in Lebanon. He said he didn’t have exact numbers. Nasser said that many people were sheltering at the Russian air base in Hmeimim, Syria, adding that the international community should protect Alawites who are Syrian citizens loyal to their country. He said that since Assad’s fall, many Alawites were fired from their jobs and some former soldiers who reconciled with the new authorities were killed.

Under Assad, Alawites held top posts in the army and security agencies. The new government has blamed his loyalists for attacks against the country’s new security forces over the past several weeks. The most recent clashes started when government forces tried to detain a wanted person near the coastal city of Jableh, and were ambushed by Assad loyalists, according to the Observatory.

Smoke rises while members of the Syrian forces ride on a vehicle as they battle against a nascent insurgency by fighters from ousted leader Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect, in Latakia, Syria March 7, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri