The death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad and the revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, a war monitoring group said March 8, making it one of the deadliest periods of violence since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in addition to 745 civilians killed, mostly in shootings from close distance, 125 government security force members and 148 militants with armed groups affiliated with Assad were killed. It added that electricity and drinking water were cut off in large areas around the city of Latakia.
The clashes, which erupted March 6, marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government in Damascus, three months after insurgents took authority after removing Assad from power.
The government has said that they were responding to attacks from remnants of Assad’s forces and blamed “individual actions” for the rampant violence.
Syria’s state news agency quoted an unnamed Defense Ministry official as saying that government forces have regained control of much of the area from Assad loyalists. (AP)
毎週届く！
