The death toll from violent clashes and attacks in Syria rose to more than 1,000 over the weekend, the worst bloodshed since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December. Fighting began Thursday along the country's western coast between state security forces and Assad loyalists, with the majority of victims appearing to be civilians targeted in revenge killings.
Assad, the last of a dynasty that exerted often ruthless rule over Syria, was part of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shia Islam. The group makes up roughly 10% of the country's population but received long-running preferential treatment from the Assad regime. The new leadership has pledged to end retaliatory violence—though an independent watchdog estimates at least 700 Alawite civilians have been killed in the current fighting.
Assad himself remains alive, having fled in the final days before his government's collapse. He was granted political asylum by Russia and remains in Moscow.
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