12 killed in sectarian violence in Syria

A monitor of Syria's conflict said 12 civilians, mostly Alawites, were killed on Monday in separate incidents of apparent sectarian violence in coastal and central regions, after massacres earlier this month.

Security in Syria remains tenuous after Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad in December following nearly 14 years of civil war.

Six civilians including a local official were killed in an attack on members of the Alawite sect in coastal Tartus province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitor cited unidentified local sources as accusing the perpetrators of setting out from a military base used by forces belonging to Syria's new authorities near the city of Banias.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said the attackers hurled "sectarian slogans and direct threats" before opening fire.

Many from Assad's Alawite minority fear reprisals for his brutal rule. This month saw the worst sectarian bloodshed since his overthrow, with massacres taking place largely in the Alawites' coastal heartland.

In a separate incident in the central city of Homs, two armed men "stormed a house and shot at those inside", killing a woman "and three of her children including a minor", said the Observatory, adding they were also Alawites.

"Two civilians from the Sunni Muslim sect" who were visiting the family were also killed, the monitor reported, without saying what was behind the incident.

It accused one of the perpetrators of being a member of the General Security agency, and said the force was following up on the incident.

Official media did not immediately report on either of the attacks.

According to the Observatory, security forces and allied groups killed some than 1,700 civilians, the vast majority of them Alawites, during days of violence that erupted on March 6.

The Syrian authorities have accused armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking the new security forces, with military reinforcements then sent to the areas.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to prosecute those behind the "bloodshed of civilians" and has set up a fact-finding committee.

Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), which has its roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, led the offensive that toppled Assad, and the new security forces are dominated by former Islamist rebels.

Syria's new authorities have promised an inclusive transition that protects the rights of minorities.

Agence France-Presse