Up to 100 people are feared to have been killed by Syrian government forces in the coastal village of Baida on Thursday.
At least 50 people are reported to have been killed, yet with no clear picture having emerged, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warning that the death tolls could be even higher – with the numbers exceeding 100 dead.
State security forces and Assad-loyalist militias are thought to have raided the village, executing people using guns and knives.
The Observatory said,
“Several homes were also destroyed by regime forces and loyalist gunmen from the surrounding Alawite villages. Information is still scarce because phone and internet lines have been cut”.