UN concerned

Activists: Over 200 dead in fighting in Syria

The Syrian armed forces took action against supporters of the ousted Syrian President Assad.

(Bild: BILAL AL HAMMOUD)

Three months after the change of power in Syria, several hundred people have been killed or injured in fighting between security forces and supporters of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, according to activists. More than 340 civilians - including women and children - are also said to have been killed.

The victims are Alawites. Assad also belongs to the minority. In the city of Banias alone, 60 civilians were murdered by shooting, the Observatory reported. The UK-based organization, which follows the Syrian conflict through a network of informants on the ground, spoke of massacres in at least 21 towns in the governorates of Latakia, Tartous and Hama.

Hardly any difference to the old regime
The civilians were killed in a manner "no different from the operations of the former regime's security forces - a collective act of retaliation", it said. The western coastal regions are considered strongholds of the Alawites, a religious community to which the ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad also belongs.

Ahmed al-Sharaa

(Bild: SANA)

A resident from the affected region said that fear and terror were widespread, especially among the Alawites. "There are many attacks and killings based on religious affiliation. There are also thefts." The Observatory called on the international community to take urgent action and demanded the deployment of experts to document human rights violations. It also appealed to the Syrian authorities in Damascus to bring those responsible for the executions to justice.

Sharaa announces punishments for attacks on civilians
Interim President Ahmed Sharaa addressed the population on Friday evening. Remnants of the ousted ex-government had tried to "test the new Syria" with attacks. Sharaa praised the reaction of the security forces and called on the attackers to lay down their weapons. Anyone who commits attacks against civilians will be severely punished, the former rebel leader also announced. He did not mention reports of massacres.

The UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria calls in a post for the protection of the civilian population in Syria:

UN "deeply concerned"
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, expressed his "deep concern". In a statement, he called on all sides to refrain from actions "that could further inflame tensions, escalate the conflict, exacerbate the suffering of affected communities, destabilize Syria and jeopardize a credible and inclusive political transition". The protection of the civilian population must be upheld in accordance with international law.

"Massacres have been carried out against the Alawite religious community," the Observatory's director, Rami Abdel-Rahman, told the German Press Agency (dpa). Activists from the city of Idlib, with whom dpa was able to speak, blamed armed supporters of the transitional government. They are said to have defied orders from Damascus. Syrian state television, on the other hand, reported that unknown persons disguised themselves in the uniforms of government troops and committed the acts in order to incite a civil war.

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First major test for interim President Shaara
Intelligence chief Anas Khattab had called on his own fighters to exercise restraint. Interim President Sharaa called on "all forces involved in the fighting" to submit to the military commanders and "clear the positions immediately in order to control the current violations". For the former rebel leader, the clashes are the first major test since taking power.

"The remnants of the old regime are exploiting the Syrian government's limited military and security capabilities to obstruct the political transition in Syria," Lina Khatib from the Chatham House think tank told the Wall Street Journal. Shaara's government faces the dilemma of cracking down hard enough on Assad supporters to prevent a full-blown uprising - but without alienating the Alawites, who fear for their future and are experiencing attacks, the newspaper said.

Intelligence chief Khattab blamed leading figures from the military and security apparatus of the ousted ex-president for the clashes. They had launched a treacherous operation in which dozens of members of the army and police were killed. They were controlled from abroad, Khattab wrote on the online platform X. Thousands of people had gathered in Damascus and several other cities to demonstrate against the armed supporters of Assad.

Fighting in the heartland of the Alawites
Many people called for the armed attacks to be repelled. According to the state news agency SANA, the security forces are mainly taking action against Assad's supporters along the Mediterranean coast, the heartland of the Alawite minority. Armed groups with links to the ousted previous government are still active in the mountainous coastal region.

Heavy fighting is said to have taken place in the town of Jableh, around 25 kilometers south of Latakia, the capital of the province of the same name. According to SANA, security forces in Latakia repelled an attack on a hospital. Curfews were imposed on the city and the coastal town of Tartus further south until Saturday morning.

According to an officer, the transitional government deployed large contingents of troops to the coastal region on Friday. The government troops had deployed artillery, tanks and rocket launchers. According to the Observatory for Human Rights, at least 237 people have died in the fighting so far.

Assad had ruled Syria for more than two decades. After a lightning offensive led by the Islamist group HTS at the end of last year, he fled to his ally Russia. Since then, the new transitional government led by Sharaa has been trying to restore security in the country and revive the economy. On taking office, Sharaa promised to involve all groups in the country in a process of political renewal and to respect human rights. In doing so, he hopes that Western sanctions against Syria will be lifted.