Over 1,000 Killed in Syria as Fighting Escalates Between Government Forces and Assad Loyalists

Damascus [Syria], March 9, 2025: More than 1,000 people have died in two days of intense clashes between Syrian security forces and supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, marking one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in Syria’s ongoing 14-year conflict. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the violence spread across more than 20 locations in the Latakia, Tartus, and Hama governorates.

According to SOHR, the clashes resulted in the deaths of 745 civilians, mostly from close-range shootings, along with 125 government security personnel and 148 militants loyal to Assad. A significant number of the civilian casualties belonged to the Alawite religious minority, which has historically been a stronghold of support for Assad.

In response, Syria’s interim government deployed reinforcements to coastal cities in the northwest, where security forces have been locked in fierce battles with Assad loyalists. Government forces claimed to have regained control over large areas in Tartus and Latakia after the insurgents launched coordinated attacks on military checkpoints, security convoys, and government positions.

Following the attacks, large groups of people reportedly moved toward the coastal areas seeking retribution against the government’s security forces. An unnamed security official, quoted by Syria’s state news agency SANA, acknowledged that “some individual violations” had occurred and stated that efforts were underway to bring the situation under control.

A curfew remains in effect in Latakia and other coastal regions, which have long served as Assad’s power base. Dozens of civilians, former regime members, and their families have sought refuge at the Russian Khmeimim military base in the Latakia countryside.

Addressing the escalating crisis for the first time, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday urged the armed fighters to surrender before “it is too late.”