RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday condemned attacks by outlaw groups in Syria targeting security forces.
“The Kingdom affirms its support for the Syrian government in its efforts to maintain security and stability and preserve civil peace,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry in a statement said.
More than 70 people were killed and dozens more injured in Syria in fighting between government security forces and militants loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor said Friday.
“More than 70 killed and dozens wounded and captured in bloody clashes and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defence and Interior and militants from the defunct regime’s army,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a post on X.
It said earlier that fighting Thursday between government forces and Assad loyalists had killed 48 people in the coastal town of Jableh and adjacent villages, saying they were “the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled” in December.
ALSO READ: Fighting Between Govt Forces and Assad Loyalists Results in Over 70 Deaths: Syria
The overall toll during this week’s unrest was not immediately clear.
Pro-Assad fighters killed 16 security personnel while 28 fighters aligned with the ousted president and four civilians were also killed, the Observatory said Thursday.
Helicopter strikes launched
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported “strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighbouring village”.
SANA reported that pro-Assad militias had opened fire on “members and equipment of the defence ministry” near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.
A defence ministry source later told SANA that large military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area.
