Fierce clashes over the past two days between security forces under Syria’s new Islamist government and gunmen belonging to the country’s Alawite religious minority killed scores of people, marking the most widespread violence since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Since March 6, at least 532 civilians have been killed in clashes across the Syrian provinces of Latakia, Tartus, and Homs, along the Mediterranean coast, Azernews reports.