The death toll among civilians and General Security personnel has risen to 311 as a result of military operations against remnants of the former regime in the Syrian coast, on the third day of operations.

The director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), Fadel Abdul Ghani, told Enab Baladi today, March 8, that what he termed “the gangs of the former regime” killed 121 General Security personnel stationed at checkpoints, in addition to 26 other civilians.

Abdul Ghani added that 164 civilians, including seven children and 13 women, were killed in the villages and towns of Jableh, Baniyas, and Latakia during the Syrian government’s operations against the remnants of the Syrian regime, at the hands of undisciplined factions.

During its campaign against what the interim government of Damascus refers to as “the remnants of the former regime,” there have been abuses involving the killing of civilians, as well as acts of looting and theft of their property.

Abdul Ghani noted in an interview with Enab Baladi yesterday, March 7, that factions from the North, along with others who came after security training and who were not properly trained, along with civilians who took up arms to join the General Security Forces, are the ones committing the abuses.

The director of the SNHR called on the Ministry of Interior to open an investigation into the matter, emphasizing that the operations to liberate Syrian provinces prior to the fall of the Assad regime did not result in a single civilian death, stressing the need to apologize to the families of the victims and provide compensation and to hold the perpetrators of the abuses accountable.

He warned that failure to do so would mean opening the door to retaliatory actions and sectarian violence, noting that the Alawite community largely does not support these gangs.

In turn, government forces have sent convoys to control the abuses and assaults in the Syrian coast.

The Ministry of Defense announced today, in coordination with the General Security Administration, the closure of roads leading to the coastal area, in order to control violations and prevent transgressions, gradually restoring stability to the region.

A source in the Ministry of Defense told the official news agency (SANA) that the ministry had previously formed an emergency committee to monitor violations and refer those who exceeded leadership instructions during the recent military and security operation to a military court.

On the other hand, civilian properties have been subjected to theft amidst the ongoing security tensions in the region, and the security apparatus announced it had seized stolen items, having confiscated more than 200 vehicles that had been stolen by those they called “weak-spirited and thieves.”

Photos released by SANA of the stolen items included electrical and household tools, batteries, motorcycles, and cars.

The pace of clashes in the Syrian coast has decreased since midnight last night, with intermittent continuation in some areas where remnants of the former regime are still present.

Security forces and their checkpoints were subjected to simultaneous ambushes at multiple locations along the Syrian coast, leading to some falling out of the control of the Damascus government, while others were besieged, prompting the latter to reassert its control by yesterday morning, Friday.

The latest tensions in western Syria began on March 6, following the entry of General Security Forces into the village of Beit Aana in the rural area of Jableh, in search of wanted individuals, where they were targeted, resulting in deaths and injuries, followed by another attack on ambulances trying to transport them.