FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – At least 237 people have been killed in Syria’s coastal region since the latest military escalation began Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday.
The casualties include military personnel, opposition fighters, and civilians, as government forces intensify their campaign against remnants of former regime military factions in the governorates of Latakia, Tartous, and Hama.
The clashes erupted after gunmen launched ambushes on military forces, checkpoints, and headquarters along the coastline, the Observatory reported. Among the dead are 142 non-combatants, 50 soldiers and officers from Syria’s Defense and Interior Ministries, and 45 opposition fighters.
As violence rages, the Observatory noted that reinforcements and heavy weaponry have been deployed to critical flashpoints in rural Latakia and Tartous. The clashes mark the deadliest escalation since the previous government fell last December, according to the war monitor.