Hundreds of Minorities, Including Christians, Killed in Syria—Reports

Syria is experiencing its deadliest period since the ousting of longtime President Bashar al-Assad three months ago, as clashes have erupted between government forces and pro-al Assad fighters this week, leaving hundreds of civilians and fighters dead. Since Thursday, more than 1,000 people—including Christian minorities and Alawites, the sect to which Assad belongs—have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and local reports. Newsweek has reached out to Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations and Syria's Ministry of Information for comment via email on Saturday evening.