The death toll from ongoing clashes in Syria's coastal region has risen to 1,018, including 745 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced Saturday, revising its earlier reports upward. According to the Observatory, allied paramilitary groups aligned with the new administration have carried out retaliatory killings following a series of attacks by remnants of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government on state security forces earlier this week, which left 16 security personnel dead. Government officials said the ambushes were premeditated. The Observatory reported that of the total death toll, 125 were members of government security forces, and 148 were militants from armed groups loyal to the former regime. However, these figures could not be independently verified. The fighting -- which flared up on Thursday -- marks the biggest challenge yet for Syria's new government. Meanwhile, the war monitor warned that the absence of legal accountability could fuel further violence and destabilize post-Assad Syria. Syrian security reinforcements have been deployed across the port cities of Latakia and Jableh, with roads shut down as forces work to regain control of the coastal region. On Saturday, armed groups loyal to Assad attacked several medical facilities, including Latakia's National Hospital. Many civilians were caught in the crossfire. A local resident said he was shot while heating a meal for his son in his kitchen and was taken to the hospital by his neighbors. As security forces regained control, some locals resumed their daily routines -- but many voiced dread over the resurgence of violence driven by revenge. Shotlist: Latakia, Syria – March 9, 2025: 1. Aerial shot of traffic jam; smoke rising from afar; 2. Vehicles, buildings on fire, smoke; 3. Various of entrance to hospital, sign; 4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr. Mohammed, head, emergency department, National Hospital of Latakia (full name not given/partially overlaid with shot 5): "The attack came from buildings surrounding the hospital. Some of these structures were isolated, including an unfinished and abandoned building. It appears that the attackers infiltrated these empty buildings and opened fire on the hospital."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 5. Various of hospital, nearby buildings, people in street; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 6. Various of Khaled Al Raad, resident in Latakia, lying in bed at hospital; infusion apparatus; 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khaled Al Raad, resident in Latakia: "I was heating food for my seven-year-old son near the window when he went upstairs. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the tall buildings. They shot at us. One bullet hit my hand, and another barely missed me. I started bleeding."; 8. Street; 9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Al Najar, resident in Latakia: "We don't want a sectarian war -- we want to rebuild our country. We don't want bloodshed, neither from us nor them, because it won't change anything. There are those who benefit from war and don't want Syria to recover. They profit while civilians on both sides suffer. But we reject that. We want peace, and we want our country to heal."; 10. Various of buildings on fire, smoke, soldiers on street. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/ Al-Arabiya TV]