"Illegal retaliation" must be avoided. This is the message from the investigative committee set up by Syria's new leadership after the recent days' killing of hundreds of civilians – most of them Alawites and Christians.
WorldSyria's Defense Department says that an "operation" on the coast has been completed, that its soldiers have "neutralized" other security forces said to be behind the killing of hundreds of civilians in recent days. The dead are reported to mainly belong to minority groups, Alawites and Christians.
WorldTestimonies speak of dead bodies in piles and people are said to flee from coastal areas in Syria. Anxiety grows after days of reports of the killing of civilians, primarily from the Syrian Alawite minority. Syria's new leader calls for peace.
WorldAt least 745 civilians from the Alawite minority in Syria have been killed by security forces and allies over the past three days, according to the British-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR). "This is one of the largest massacres in the Syrian conflict," says SOHR chief Rami Abdulrahman in a statement.
WorldAt least 162 people from the Alawite minority in Syria have been killed by Syrian security forces in "five separate massacres", reports the Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR). Additionally, at least 95 more people have been killed in clashes between government forces and supporters of the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.
WorldA new Syrian government will be in place on March 1, claims the country's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
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