At least 237 Syrians, including 142 civilians, have been killed in clashes between militias affiliated with ousted President Bashar al-Assad and the transitional government’s forces in coastal Syria, a war monitor said Friday amid reports of massacres targeting the Alawite religious minority.

Thursday's and Friday’s violence in the Latakia and Tartous provinces, home to much of Syria's Alawite community, was the most deadly since the overthrow of Assad in December, posing a challenge to the transitional government’s efforts to establish control and raising concerns of sectarian violence in the country, according to experts. 

What happened: Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani said on Friday that the interim government forces had “reimposed control” after attacks by “remnants of the defunct regime.”

Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that transitional government forces entered various parts of Tartous, including the city of Baniyas, on Friday in an effort to establish stability. There were reports earlier of clashes in Baniyas.