Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Syria<\/a> in the last 48 hours, marking the deadliest eruption of violence since the fall of the Assad regime<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports that at least 830 civilians have been killed in what it described as \u201cthe largest collective act of revenge in the coast and its mountains,\u201d with the death toll expected to rise. <\/p>\n More than 1,300 people have been killed in 72 hours, according to the organization. The total includes security force members and militant deaths.<\/p>\n It is unclear which groups are involved in the killing of civilians, with reports of different militias converging in the area, and much remains unknown about what is unfolding in Syria. Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa<\/a> called for peace on Sunday, amid reports of executions, firing squads and bodies piled in the streets.<\/p>\n Clashes between Syrian government forces and fighters loyal to the deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad, have also led to hundreds more deaths on both sides.<\/p>\n The violence has been concentrated in the coastal areas of Tartu<\/a>s<\/a> and Latakia, the home of the Alawite community, a small Islamic sect to which the Assad family belongs. According to the SOHR, the vast majority of the civilian dead appear to be Alawites, which NBC News has not independently confirmed.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed \u201cradical Islamic terrorists\u201d for the killings, and urged Syria\u2019s leadership to hold them accountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Syria\u2019s Presidency released a statement Sunday announcing its decision to form an independent national committee to investigate the events on the Syrian coast, including “causes, circumstances, and conditions” that led to the event. The statement also promised to “identify those responsible.”<\/p>\n But as the nation grapples with this surge in violence, here\u2019s what we know about what\u2019s happening on the ground, and what it could mean for Syria\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Syria\u2019s rugged Mediterranean shore was a stronghold of the Assad family\u2019s brutal regime, which lasted 53 years before a rebel alliance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham<\/a> (HTS) ousted Assad three months ago in a lightning-fast offensive that swept across the nation and led HTS leader Sharaa to become the new government\u2019s interim president.<\/p>\n However, Syria\u2019s northwest coast remains a fractured battleground, with armed Assad loyalists holding on to villages and remote pockets of territory.<\/p>\n Sharaa\u2019s government has deployed armed forces to the region in a bid to assert control, but fierce clashes erupted last week that have left hundreds dead.<\/p>\n Video footage posted on social media and verified by NBC News showed dozens of bodies piled on a blood-soaked street in Latakia. Women gathered around the bloodied corpses. One can be heard sobbing, \u201cMy dad, my brother, oh, God.\u201d<\/p>\n Other verified videos showed military vehicles moving through the countryside amid explosions and gunfire, while another showed soldiers indiscriminately dropping bombs from a helicopter over Latakia\u2019s rural areas.<\/p>\n The SOHR\u00a0is a prominent information office dedicated to documenting human rights abuses in Syria<\/a>.<\/p>\n The group said the vast majority of people killed in the current clashes were from the Alawite sect, and that women and children were executed by firing squad in the countryside near Tartus.<\/p>\n NBC News has not independently verified the death toll or methods of execution.<\/p>\n The Associated Press reported that revenge killings were initiated Friday by Sunni gunmen, perhaps loyal to the government, with residents saying Alawites were being killed in the streets or at the gates of their homes, and their houses looted and set on fire.<\/p>\n SOHR also reported that 125 government security forces and 148 militants from Assad-affiliated armed groups were among the dead.<\/p>\n Federico Jachetti,\u00a0Syria country office director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement on Sunday that\u00a0the escalation served as \u201ca grim reminder that the situation in the country remains fragile,\u201d and cited reports of \u201csummary killings, widespread displacement and thousands more left trapped in their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSyrian families across the country are yearning for a respite after long years of uncertainty and fear,\u201d he said, calling on all parties to protect civilians.<\/p>\n The once-ruling minority is a tight-knit Islamic sect to which the Assad family belongs. Under Assad, Alawites were appointed to key positions in the military and security forces, positioning them as the elite within Syria\u2019s state bureaucracy and security apparatus.<\/p>\n The rise of HTS, a former Al Qaeda affiliate with an extremist past, raised deep concerns among the Alawite community as it took power.<\/p>\nWhat we know<\/h2>\n
![\"Syria](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2025-03\/250307-syria-mb-0949-7a4f9f.jpg\")
<\/picture>Who are the Alawites?<\/h2>\n
![\"Mourners](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2025-03\/250309-coffin-syria-vl-952a-eda520.jpg\")
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