Security forces loyal to Syria’s new government have been accused of massacring hundreds of civilians in coastal Alawite and Christian communities after the government said it had launched a military campaign against fighters loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least 745 civilians have been killed in 29 massacres in Latakia and Tartus provinces since Thursday. Victims include children and the elderly, most of them killed execution-style. The massacres came as some rebel fighters look to punish the Alawite community because the Assad family belongs to the Alawite sect, which makes up 12% of Syria’s population. Residents in Latakia condemned the massacres.

Ahmad al-Najar: “We don’t want a sectarian war. We want to rebuild our country. We don’t want bloodshed, neither from us nor them, because it won’t change anything. There are those who benefit from war and don’t want Syria to recover. They profit while civilians on both sides suffer. But we reject that. We want peace. We want our country to heal.”