BEIRUT — A Syrian war monitor says gunmen loyal to the government have stormed three villages near Syria’s coast, killing nearly 70 men.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the killings occurred Friday in the villages of Sheer, Mukhtariyeh and Haffah.

“They killed every man they encountered,” the Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdurrahman, referring to gunmen who killed residents who belong to the country’s minority Alawite sect of former President Bashar Assad.

Abdurrahman said the gunmen shot dead 69 men and left without harming women or children in the three villages.

The Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV said more than 30 men were killed in the village of Mukhtariyeh after they were separated from women and children. It added that others were also shot dead in Sheer and Haffah.

State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed security official as saying that after attacks by forces loyal to former president Bashar Assad left policemen dead, large numbers of people headed to areas along the coast “in what led to some individual violations and we are working on stop them.”

The latest deaths raise to 147 the total number of people killed since clashes between government forces and fighters loyal to Assad broke out on Thursday.

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Clashes Escalate in Syria’s Western Coastal Region

Clashes between Syrian security forces under the country’s new, Islamist authorities and gunmen loyal to ousted President Bashar Assad in Syria’s western coastal region have killed more than 70 people and left an area outside government control a war monitor said Friday.

The clashes, which erupted on Thursday and appear coordinated across the coastal region, were a major escalation and a challenge to the new government in Damascus, where the former insurgents now in power have pledged to unite Syria after 14 years of brutal civil war.

Overnight, Damascus sent reinforcements to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus, as well as nearby towns and villages — the heartland of Assad’s minority Alawite sect and his longtime base of support, trying to get the situation under control, state media reported.

It was the worst violence since Assad’s was toppled in early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Since then, there have been some sectarian attacks against minority Alawites, though the new authorities say they won’t allow collective punishment or sectarian vengeance.

Under Assad, Alawites held top posts in the army and security agencies. The new government has blamed his loyalists for attacks over the past weeks against the country’s new security forces.

Large numbers of troops were seen Friday morning in Latakia, where a curfew that was imposed in the city and other coastal areas remained in force. Members of the security force said there were minor clashes in one of the city’s neighborhoods but most of Latakia was calm and under government control.

Monitors Report Dozens Dead and Areas Captured by Assad Loyalists

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said 35 members of Syrian government forces, 32 fighters loyal to Assad and four civilians have been killed.

The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said the outskirts of the coastal towns of Baniyas and Jableh were still under control of Assad loyalists, as was Assad’s hometown of Qardaha and many Alawite villages nearby.

A Qardaha resident told The Associated Press in a text messages that the situation “is very bad.” The resident, who asked that his name not be made public fearing for his safety, said government forces were firing with heavy machine guns in the town’s residential areas.

Another resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity fearing for his safety, said that they have not been able to leave their homes since Thursday afternoon because of the intensity of the shooting.

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Concerns Over Potential Sectarian Tensions

Gregory Waters, an associate fellow with the Middle East Institute who has researched Syria’s coastal areas, said he doesn’t expect the flareup to escalate into sustained fighting between the two sides. However, he said he was concerned it could stoke cycles of violence between different civilian communities living along the coast.

Also, any violations by the security forces sent from Damascus on the armed groups would leave young Alawite men more fearful of the new government — and more prone to take up arms, Waters said.

Abdurrahman, of the Observatory, said the clashes started when government forces tried to detain a wanted person near Jableh and were ambushed by Assad loyalists.

Scores of people gathered Friday outside the main Russian air base in Syria near Jableh, asking for protection from Moscow. Russia joined Syria’s conflict in 2015, siding with Assad, although it has opened links with the new authorities after his fall. Assad has been living in Moscow since leaving Syria in December as the offensive by the former insurgents neared Damascus.

Asked about the outbreak of fighting in the coastal region and possible threats to Russian troops, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that “security of our military is ensured on a proper level.”

“I wouldn’t comment on the operational situation as we don’t know details,” Peskov said during a conference call with reporters.

Syria’s conflict started in March 2011 and has left more than half a million people dead and millions displaced.

Turkey Issues Warning

While Assad was still in power, Turkey had backed Syria’s opposition forces and rebels who took up arms against Damascus.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oncu Keceli warned that the rising violence in and around Latakia could “undermine efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity”,

“Intensive efforts are underway to establish security and stability in Syria,” Keceli posted on X. “At this critical juncture, the targeting of security forces could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity.”

He stressed that “such provocations must not be allowed to become a threat to peace in Syria and the region” and reaffirmed Turkey’s stand against “any action that targets the right of Syrians to live in peace and prosperity.”

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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.