Germany's Foreign Ministry on Friday called on all sides of the ongoing battle in Syria to avoid a "spiral of violence" after more than 200 people died in two days of fighting between government forces and gunmen loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Fighters backing Syria's new authorities attacked villages along the coastal region, a longtime bastion of support for Assad, killing men in retaliation for attacks on government security forces by Assad loyalists, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

"We are shocked by the numerous victims in the western regions of Syria. We call on all sides to seek for peaceful solutions, national unity, inclusive political dialogue and transitional justice — to overcome the spiral of violence and hatred," a statement said.

During a visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus, in January, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock offered Syria support if the government met certain conditions, including ensuring the protection of minorities.

The violence erupted after a series of attacks and ambushes, blamed on Assad's armed supporters, targeted transitional government security forces, along the country's western coast on Thursday.

More than 200 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to the SOHR.

In addition to around 140 killed in apparent revenge attacks in the villages, the dead include at least 50 members of Syria's government forces and 45 fighters loyal to Assad. 

Syrian authorities did not publish a death toll, but Syria’s state news agency SANA quoted an unidentified security official as saying that numerous people went to the coast seeking revenge for recent attacks on government security forces.

The official said the actions “led to some individual violations and we are working on stop them.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Hassan Abdel Ghani said government forces had made rapid progress on the ground and regained control of areas where attacks on security forces had taken place.

Anas Khattab, the head of Syria's General Intelligence Service, wrote on X that "initial investigations showed former military and security leaders affiliated with the defunct regime are behind the planning of these crimes."

Meanwhile, Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Syrian rebel group that overthrew Assad's government, urged pro-Assad fighters from the Alawite minority to lay down their arms "before it's too late."

In a speech broadcast on Telegram, the interim president also vowed to "continue to work towards monopolizing weapons in the hands of the state, and there will be no more unregulated weapons."

Armed groups with links to the former regime continue to be active in a number of towns and villages in the mountainous coastal region.

Ongoing clashes in western Syria have marked the worst violence since Assad's government was toppled in early December by insurgents led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The new government has pledged to unite Syria after 14 years of civil war that has left more than half a million people dead and millions displaced.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar