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       DAMASCUS: Hundreds of people were killed in some of the deadliest violence in 13 years of civil war, pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against security forces of the country’s new interim rulers as UN human rights chief called on Syria’s interim leaders on Sunday to intervene and prevent mass killing of people in coastal areas.

       The clashes, which a war monitoring group said had already killed 1,000 people, mostly civilians, continued for a fourth day in Assad’s coastal heartland.

       A Syrian security source said the pace of fighting had slowed around the cities of Latakia, Jabla and Baniyas, while forces searched surrounding mountainous areas where an estimated 5,000 pro-Assad insurgents were hiding.

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       The United Nations Human Rights chief called on Syria’s interim leaders on Sunday to intervene to prevent reported mass killings in coastal areas and bring perpetrators to account.

       UN calls on Syria’s interim leaders to prevent mass killing of people in coastal areas

       “The caretaker authorities’ announcements of their intention to respect the law must be followed by swift actions to protect Syrians, including by taking all necessary measures to prevent any violations and abuses and achieve accountability when these occur,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

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       Interim leader of Syria Ahmed Sharaa urged Syrians not to let sectarian tensions further destabilise the country.

       “We have to preserve national unity and domestic peace, we can live together,” Sharaa said in a circulated video, speaking at a mosque in Mazzah area of Damascus.

       “Rest assured about Syria, this country has the characteristics for survival … What is currently happening in Syria is within the expected challenges.” Rebels led by Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group toppled Assad’s government in December.

       Assad fled to Russia, leaving behind some of his closest advisers and supporters, while Sharaa’s group led the appointment of an interim government and took over Syria’s armed forces.

       After months of relative calm following the ouster of Assad, violence spiralled this week as forces linked to the new rulers began a crackdown on what they called growing insurgency from Assad’s Alawite sect in the Mediterranean provinces of Latakia and Tartous.

       The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said on Saturday more than 1,000 people had been killed in the two days of fighting. It said 745 were civilians, 125 members of the Syrian security forces and 148 fighters loyal to Assad.

       Syrian security sources said at least 200 of their members were killed in the clashes.

       Security Council meeting called

       Diplomats said the United States and Russia have asked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to meet behind closed doors on Monday over the escalating violence in Syria.

       The Syrian authorities blamed summary executions of dozens of youths and deadly raids on homes in villages and towns inhabited by Syria’s once-ruling minority on ‘unruly armed militias’.

       Clashes continued overnight in several towns where armed groups fired on security forces and ambushed cars on highways leading to main towns in the coastal area, a Syrian security source said.

       A security source added the pro-Assad insurgents had staged hit-and-run attacks on several public utilities in the last 24 hours.

       They damaged a main power station that cut electricity across parts of the province, while a main water pumping station and several fuel depots were disrupted.

       US reaction

       US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday condemned the “massacres” of minorities in Syria and demanded the interim administration hold those responsible to account.

       “Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable,” Rubio said in a statement.

       UK condemns civilians’ killing

       Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy on Sunday condemned the recent killing of civilians in northwestern Syria, calling it “horrific”.

       “The authorities in Damascus must ensure the protection of all Syrians and set out a clear path to transitional justice,” Lammy said in a post on X.

       Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2025