Diogenes
Nemo me impune lacessit
More than 200 people have been killed since the fighting broke out.
In addition to around 140 killed in apparent revenge attacks in the villages, the dead include at least 50 members of Syria’s radical Muslim government.
The most recent clashes began when Al Qaeda forces tried to detain a "wanted person" near the coastal city of Jableh.
“They killed every man they encountered,” said Rami Abdurrahman.
Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV also reported the attacks on the three villages, saying that more than 30 men were killed in the village of Mukhtariyeh alone.
Another 60 people were killed in the town of Baniyas, including women and children.
Syrian authorities did not publish a death toll.
A curfew remained in effect in Latakia and other coastal areas.
One Qardaha resident told The Associated Press in a text message that government forces were firing with heavy machine guns in the town’s residential areas. Another said people had not been able to leave their homes since Thursday afternoon because of the intensity of the shooting. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Scores of people gathered Friday outside the main Russian air base in Syria near Jableh to ask Moscow for protection.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a written statement that Moscow is “closely coordinating efforts with foreign partners in the interests of a speedy de-escalation of the situation.”
Associated Press writers Omar Albam in Latakia, Syria and Mariam Fam in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
