America News Agency

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sunday called for an investigation into the killings and for the perpetrators to be held accountable. "We have received extremely disturbing reports of entire families being killed, including women, children, and unarmed fighters. The killing of civilians in Syria’s northwestern coastal areas must stop immediately," he said.

The clashes began on Thursday when fighters linked to the deposed Assad regime ambushed security forces in Jableh, a coastal town in Latakia province, sparking a wave of retaliatory attacks, including on civilians from the minority Alawite sect. On Sunday, fighting reignited when pro-Assad forces attacked a power plant in Banias.

To quell the uprising, the Syrian government called for reinforcements, and thousands of fighters from across the country flooded the Syrian coast. Although these fighters are nominally under the control of the new Syrian government, some militias remain relatively undisciplined and have been involved in past human rights abuses.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that more than 1,000 people had been killed in the conflict, including 745 civilians, 125 Syrian security personnel, and 148 pro-Assad fighters.

Death toll estimates vary significantly; another rights group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), reported that 148 civilians had been killed by pro-Assad forces, while Syrian security forces had killed 327 civilians and captured militants.

The Syrian government has not released any official figures regarding its casualties.