Syrian committee reports over 1,400 killed in March

More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed in several days of sectarian violence on Syria 's coast earlier this year, a government committee tasked with investigating it said on Tuesday.

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The violence was the first major incident to emerge after the ouster of longtime President Bashar Al Assad in December. It said there was no evidence that Syria’s new military leaders ordered attacks on the Alawite community there, to which Assad belonged.

Nearly 300 people suspected of committing crimes including murder, robbery, torture and looting and burning of homes and businesses were identified during the four-month investigation and referred for prosecution, and 37 people have been arrested, officials told journalists. They didn’t say how many suspects were members of security forces.