Syrian security forces battled for a second day on Friday to crush a nascent insurgency by fighters from Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect, with scores reported killed as the Islamist-led government faced the biggest challenge yet to its authority.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that more than 180 people had been killed in two days of violence in the coastal region of western Syria, which is heavily populated by members of the Alawite minority, according to Reuters.

They included at least two dozen male residents of the Alawite town of Al Mukhtareyah killed by gunmen on Friday, the Observatory and two Alawite activists said, citing contacts in the region and video footage from the scene.

In his first comments on the violence, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said government forces would pursue “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al Assad government and bring them to trial. He also said those who assault civilians would be held accountable.

“We will continue to pursue the remnants of the fallen regime .. . We will bring them to a fair court, and we will continue to restrict weapons to the state, and no loose weapons will remain in Syria,” Sharaa added in a pre-recorded speech.

Syrian authorities said the violence began when remnants loyal to Assad launched a deadly and well-planned attack on their forces on Thursday.

The violence has shaken Sharaa’s efforts to consolidate control as his administration struggles to get U.S. sanctions lifted and grapples with wider security challenges, notably in the southwest, where Israel has said it will prevent Damascus from deploying forces.

The oil-rich northeast of the country also remains outside state control, held by a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led group.

Syrians took to the streets on Friday to rally in support of the government in Damascus and other cities.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey, both allies of the government, also signalled their backing, while the U.N. envoy to Syria said he was alarmed by the clashes and killings, including of civilians.

Russia, which was a major backer of Assad but has sought to build ties with the new government, called on all leaders of the country to stop the bloodshed.

Iran, formerly Assad’s closest ally, said it “strongly opposes insecurity, violence, killing and harming innocent Syrians from every group and tribe.”

Images from Al Mukhtareyah showed at least 20 men lying in close proximity – some bloodied – by the side of a road in the town centre. Reuters was able to verify the location in the video, but not when it was filmed or by whom.

Alawite activists, speaking on condition of anonymity, blamed the killings on gunmen affiliated with the Islamist ruling authorities.

Syrian state news agency SANA, citing a security source, said “individual violations” had been perpetrated after unorganized crowds had headed to the coastal region following the attacks on government security personnel.

“We are working to stop these violations,” the source said.

A prominent Alawite cleric, Sheikh Shabaan Mansour, 86, was killed on Friday with his son in the village of Sahlab in western Syria, according to two Alawite sources. Residents there accused fighters aligned with Damascus of killing them.

CURFEWS

The violence spiralled on Thursday when the authorities said groups of Assad-aligned militias targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside, before spreading.

Moussa al-Omar, a Syrian media figure close to the country’s new leadership, told Reuters that tens of thousands of fighters in Syria’s newly constituted security forces had been deployed to the coast in the operation and order had been largely restored as of Friday night.

He said the crackdown was “a message to anyone in the south or east of Syria that the state … is capable of a military resolution at any time even as it seeks peaceful solutions.”

Curfews were declared on Friday in the coastal cities of Tartous and Latakia, SANA said. Security forces mounted combing operations in both cities and nearby mountains.

Alawite activists say their community has been subjected to violence and attacks, particularly in rural Homs and Latakia, since Assad was overthrown in December after decades of repressive family rule and civil war.

While Sharaa has pledged to run Syria in an inclusive way, no meetings have been declared between him and senior Alawite figures, in contrast to members of other minority groups.

ESCALATION RISK

“The chaos and paroxysm of killings will undermine the confidence of both foreign states and Syrians in his government and its ability to steer Syria out of this difficult phase,” said Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

A group of Alawite clerics, the Alawite Islamic Council, blamed the violence on the government, saying fighters had been sent to the coast “with the pretext of (combating) ‘regime remnants,’ to terrorise and kill Syrians.” It called for the region to be put under U.N. protection.

Saudi Arabia condemned “crimes being undertaken by outlaw groups” in Syria and their targeting of security forces.

Turkey, a close ally of Syria’s new government, also stated its support for Damascus, saying, “The tension in and around Latakia, as well as the targeting of security forces, could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and sent a letter to its leadership on Thursday saying he hoped the Islamic Republic, arch foe of longtime U.S. ally Israel, would agree to talk.

“I said I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,” Trump said in the interview with Fox Business Network broadcast Friday.

“I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something, because you can’t let another nuclear weapon.”

There was no immediate response from the foreign ministry in Iran, where it is currently the weekend, to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.

The letter appeared to have been addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The White House did not immediately respond to a request about that.

“There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal,” Trump said. “I would prefer to make a deal, because I’m not looking to hurt Iran. They’re great people.”

Trump has upended U.S. foreign policy after taking office in January, adopting a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to Moscow’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.

Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, a multinational agreement to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, in 2018, a year into his first White House term.

He said in February he would like to make a deal with Iran that prevents that country from developing a nuclear weapon.

Russia has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, a source briefed on discussions told Reuters on Tuesday, as the Kremlin vowed to do everything possible to facilitate a peaceful solution to tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed international efforts to resolve the situation around Iran’s nuclear program with Iranian ambassador Kazem Jalali, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

(Reutres)

Thousands of people poured on to the streets of Bannu in northwestern Pakistan for the funerals on Wednesday of 18 people, including six children, killed in a suicide attack on a security installation.

Suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into the town’s military base in an attack staged by more than a dozen militants on Tuesday.

The military said in a statement that the multiple suicide blasts caused a partial collapse of the compound’s outer wall, damaging nearby infrastructure. A nearby mosque and residential building were also severely damaged, it added.

At least 13 civilians and five soldiers were killed in the attack, the military said. Muhammad Nauman, a spokesperson for a nearby hospital, said six children were among those killed and 36 others were wounded, read the report.

Abdullah Khan, a 46-year-old resident of Banu who runs a livestock business said it was the largest funeral ever seen in the town.

Riaz Wazir, a 46-year-old shopkeeper, who also attended the funeral, said that, in addition to the loss of life, the blasts had caused substantial damage and financial loss.

“Buildings that have fallen are destroyed. Those that have not fallen are dangerous because of explosions, any accident can happen,” he said.

The military said four suicide bombers were among 16 militants also killed in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Pakistan is battling a surge in attacks by its own chapter of the Islamist Taliban movement, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on police and military in areas near the Afghan border.

Video images from the scene showed people sifting through piles of bricks and clearing metal scaffolding.

Nauman, the hospital spokesperson, said a number of the civilian casualties were trapped under collapsed buildings and walls.

Rescue services were searching for more casualties under the debris.

“The evil ambitions of the enemies of Pakistan will never be allowed to succeed,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement condemning the attack.