CLASHES between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former president Bashar al-Assad in the country’s coastal region have left more than 70 people dead and an area outside government control, a war monitor said today.

Government forces sent major reinforcements overnight to the cities of Latakia and Tartus as well as nearby towns and villages that are the heartland of Mr Assad’s minority Alawite sect and a base of support for him, to try to get the situation under control, state media reported.

The clashes are the worst since Mr Assad was removed from power in early December by insurgent groups led by Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.