More than 70 people were killed and dozens wounded in Syria as fierce clashes erupted between government security forces and fighters aligned with ousted President Bashar al-Assad's regime, a war monitor reported on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the confrontations as some of the deadliest since al-Assad’s fall in December, stating, "More than 70 killed and dozens wounded and captured in bloody clashes and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defense and Interior and militants from the defunct regime's army."

The violence intensified on Thursday in the coastal town of Jableh and surrounding villages, leaving at least 48 dead. Sixteen security personnel were killed, while 28 fighters aligned with the previous regime and four civilians also lost their lives, the monitor said.

Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, where tensions are centered, said that "in a well-planned and premeditated attack, several groups of the former regime's remnants attacked positions and checkpoints in the Jableh area, adding that security forces suffered "numerous martyrs and injured."

Local Syrian sources informed Al Mayadeen on Thursday evening that military reinforcements were being deployed to Jableh and its outskirts to support the General Security forces.

Additionally, the General Security Administration in the cities of Latakia, Homs, and Tartus announced the imposition of a curfew.

Security forces began what official news agency SANA described as a "large-scale" operation in cities, towns, and the mountains of Latakia and neighbouring Tartus, following the deployment of reinforcements.

The operation "targeted remnants of Assad's militias and those who supported them", a security official cited by SANA said, as he called on civilians to "stay in their homes."

The Defense Ministry said it had sent reinforcements to the cities of Latakia and Tartus.

Meanwhile, following reports of the killing of 16 security personnel—most of whom were from Idlib province in northwestern Syria, a stronghold of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the offensive that toppled al-Assad—a crowd of young men gathered in central Idlib, according to AFP, in support of the military leadership. Mosques broadcast calls through loudspeakers urging "jihad" against armed groups in Syria’s coastal region.

Similar gatherings took place in several cities, including Hama and Homs in central Syria, Aleppo in the north, Quneitra in the south, and Deir Ezzor in the east, as reported by SANA.

Top intelligence officer arrested

During yesterday's crackdown, security forces detained Ibrahim Huweija, who led the Air Force intelligence unit from 1987 to 2002, SANA confirmed.

General Huweija was "accused of hundreds of assassinations" under the rule of al-Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, the official news agency added.

In another operation, security forces clashed with groups affiliated with the former regime's special forces commander Suhail al-Hassan in Latakia’s countryside. Authorities launched helicopter strikes in response.

The Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria issued a statement calling for "halting the military campaign in Dattour, Tartous, and Jableh, where civilian homes have been targeted by airstrikes."

The council urged for "a peaceful uprising in public squares to support the people in Jableh’s villages and to raise the voice of justice against oppression," emphasizing, "Protest with strength but with wisdom, raise only national slogans, and do not damage properties."

On Friday morning, the council issued another statement on its Facebook page, calling on the UN Secretary-General, Russia, and the international community to place Syria’s coastal region and Alawite-populated areas under UN protection and to invoke Chapter VII of the UN Charter to safeguard the Alawite community and other minorities.

Residents and organizations report violations, including home confiscations, summary executions, and kidnappings, which authorities attribute to “isolated incidents” while pledging to hold those responsible accountable.

Read more: Syrian Defense Ministry personnel killed in Latakia ambush