Violence broke out after a set of coordinated attacks on security forces by pro-Assad groups [Getty]
At least 803 people were killed in Syria between 6 March and 10 March, following attacks on security forces by loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has said in a preliminary report released on Tuesday.
The killings, many of which were sectarian and anti-Alawite in nature, took place mainly in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus and Hama.
The SNHR said the Syrian army and its affiliated groups’ response to the pro-Assad attacks resulted in many of the deaths. The groups which pursued the pro-Assad elements were made up of local armed civilian groups, local military factions and foreign Islamist groups.
The operations “quickly escalated into violent confrontations characterized by widespread and severe violations, most of which were retaliatory and sectarian in nature”, the SNHR said, adding that local factions and foreign Islamist groups nominally affiliated with the Ministry of Defence were “primarily responsible”.
The death toll provided by the SNHR did not include the deaths of non-state armed group members.
The SNHR’s tally says that most of the deaths occurred in Latakia Governorate, where 185 people were killed including 15 children and 11 women. In Tartus Governorate, 183 were killed, including nine children and 28 women. In Hama Governorate, 49 were killed, including 15 children and 10 women, while three people were killed in Homs Governorate.
The violence that gripped Syria last week has been described as the worst unrest since the toppling of President Assad in December.
On Saturday, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the creation of an independent committee to establish the facts of what happened. The committee will report to the president with its final report after a month.
The SNHR urged Syria’s government to exert greater control over the country’s army and affiliated groups, and also called for prosecutions of those who carried out violations.
The group also called for the creation of local reconciliation committees, among other recommendations, to ensure cohesion and to combat sectarian violence.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to correct that the death toll was for all killed by all parties, not just those by government and allies forces.
