Syrian army targeting Lattakia villages: Turkmen group

Two people were killed and at least 15 injured late Sunday when the Syrian army shelled a number of predominantly Turkmen villages in the northwestern Lattakia province, according to members of Syria’s Association of Turkmen.

Members of the Istanbul-based association told Anadolu Agency that the Syrian regime had targeted Turkmen villages in Lattakia’s Bayir Bujak area with missiles and mortars.

They also said clashes had occurred between Syrian regime forces and Turkmen fighters.

Turkmen are a Turkic ethnic group based largely in Syria and Iraq, who live alongside Arabs and Kurds. The Turkmen community, which includes both Sunni and Shia Muslims, shares close cultural ties with the Turkish people.

Syria has been gripped by violence since the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad launched a violent crackdown on anti-government protests that began in early 2011, triggering a civil war in which more than 220,000 people have since been killed, according to the UN.