Death toll from clashes in Syria’s coastal region reaches over 1,000

Death toll from ongoing clashes in Syria’s coastal region has risen to more than 1,000, including 745 civilians. The violence began in Jableh on March 6 and has since spread along the Mediterranean coast. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the clashes erupted after remnants of former president Bashar al-Assad’s ousted regime attacked government troops earlier this week, killing 16 security personnel. In response, allied paramilitary groups with the new administration launched retaliatory killings, it said. The Observatory reported that among the dead were 125 government security personnel and 148 pro-Assad militants, though these numbers remain unverified. It also warned that the absence of legal accountability could fuel further violence and destabilize post-Assad Syria.