Beirut, Mar. 10, (dpa/GNA) – Syrian authorities say they have halted a military operation along the country’s western coastline designed to quell a surge in violence that is reported to have claimed hundreds of lives.
“We are announcing the end of the military operation (…) after our armed forces have successfully achieved all of the objectives set,” said a spokesman for the ministry, according to the Syrian news agency (SANA) on Monday.
The clashes erupted on Thursday, when armed supporters of the ousted al-Assad regime attacked security forces in Latakia governorate, according to the version of events put out by the country’s new rulers.
The transitional government responded with a large military operation, including the use of artillery and tanks, charging that al-Assad loyalists were attempting to restart the country’s civil war.
According to activists, more than 1,300 people were killed in the outbreaks of violence, including at least 973 civilians.
The religious Alawite minority, to which the deposed president Bashar al-Assad belongs, was particularly targeted, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group.
Al-Assad was deposed about three months ago in a coup by Islamist groups.
GNA