A Syria war monitor reported on Saturday that more than 300 Alawite civilians have been killed in recent days by the security forces and their allies, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the former government of Bashar al-Assad.

Restoring security has been one of the most complex tasks for Syria’s new authorities, installed after Islamist-led forces ousted Assad in a lightning offensive in December.

They are now facing their fiercest attacks yet by members of the Assad clan’s Alawite minority and have launched a major counter-operation in the ethnic group’s Mediterranean heartland triggered by deadly clashes on Thursday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that “311 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal region… by security forces and allied groups” since then.

The Observatory indicated they were killed in “executions” carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters and accompanied by “looting of homes and properties”.

The civilian deaths bring the overall total count to 524 people, including 93 members of the new government’s security forces and 120 pro-Assad fighters.

State news agency SANA reported early Saturday that “deposed regime remnants” had launched an attack on the national hospital in the coastal city of Latakia, adding “the general security forces are repelling the attack”.

In an address on Friday, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa urged the insurgents to “lay down your weapons and surrender before it’s too late”.

Western powers and Syria’s neighbours have emphasised the need for unity in the new Syria, which is seeking funds for reconstructing a nation ravaged by years of civil war under Assad.

The Britain-based Observatory has reported multiple “massacres” in recent days, with women and children among the dead.

“The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the Ministry of Defence and the Interior,” the rights group said on Friday.

The Observatory and activists released footage showing dozens of bodies in civilian clothing piled outside a house, with blood stains nearby and women wailing.

Other videos appeared to show men in military garb shooting people at close range.

AFP could not independently verify the images.

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