“ANXIETY AND FEAR”
In some areas, residents began tentatively venturing out but many were still afraid to leave home after dark and complained of a lack of basic supplies.
“Today the situation in Latakia is a little calmer, people are out and about after five days of anxiety and extreme fear,” said Farah, a 22-year-old university student who gave only her first name.
But with the situation still “very tense”, she said that “after six o’clock, you do not see anyone in the street … the neighbourhood turns into a ghost town”.
Clashes broke out on Thursday after gunmen loyal to the deposed president attacked Syria’s new security forces.
The ensuing violence killed 231 security personnel and 250 pro-Assad fighters killed, according to the Britain-based Observatory which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
The authorities did not provide any casualty figures.
In addition to the mass killings of Alawites, there have been reports of Christians being caught up in the wave of attacks.
During a sermon in Damascus on Sunday, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X said that “many innocent Christians were also killed” alongside Alawites.
Obituaries were shared on social media for several members of the small Christian community living on the coast.
Sharaa’s group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has its roots in the Syrian branch of jihadist network Al-Qaeda, has vowed to protect Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities since toppling Assad.
HTS is still listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and other governments.