DAMASCUS, Syria — Protesters and Syrian government forces clashed Saturday in the coastal city of Latakia, where demonstrators set fire to the offices of President Bashar Assad’s ruling Baath party, an activist said.

Dozens of people staged an anti-government protest before attacking the building in Latakia, said Ammar Qurabi, an exile in Egypt who heads Syria’s National Organization for Human Rights.

Presidential advisor Bouthaina Shaaban said that an “armed group” had occupied the roofs of some buildings. She claimed the group was shooting randomly at citizens.

“There is a project to sow strife in Syria,” Shaaban said.

Qurabi said four people were killed when armed forces fired on protesters Friday in Latakia, which is almost evenly divided between the country’s majority Sunni Muslims and Alawites, members of a branch of Shiite Islam who hold most positions of power, including the presidency.

More than a week of protests centered in the southern Syrian city of Daraa exploded into nationwide unrest Friday when tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities, town and villages.

Troops and soldiers opened fire in at least six places, killing some 15 protesters, according to witnesses and activists.

Assad pulled back police and soldiers from Daraa and released hundreds of political prisoners on Saturday in an attempt to appease demonstrators.