The UN condemned the so-called “extremely disturbing” report, which shows that the entire family was killed in northwestern Syria as conflicts between security forces and the Assad regime’s loyalists caused the country’s highest death losses since the 2011 revolution began.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk on Sunday called for an investigation into the killings and perpetrators. “We have received extremely disturbing reports from the entire family, including women and children, fighting [surrendered] Fighters were killed. “He said in a statement. “Civilians in coastal areas of northwestern Syria must be stopped immediately. ”
The fight began on Thursday, with fighters loyal to the Jableh regime of Jableh, coastal Ratakia, faced a wave of revenge attacks, including targeting civilians belonging to a few Alaw sects. The clashes recurred on Sunday after security forces attacked a power plant in Latakia by Assad loyalists.
In order to suppress the rebellion, the Syrian government called for reinforcements, and thousands of combatants gathered from all over the country on Syria’s coast. Although the fighters were nominally under the auspices of the new Syrian government, the militia remained insisting that some of them were related to past human rights violations and were relatively undisciplined.
The UK-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) said more than 1,000 people were killed in the attack, including 745 civilians, 125 members of Syrian security forces and 148 Assad loyalists.
The Syrian Human Rights Network (SNHR) said the death toll from the two-day battle varies greatly, while the Syrian Human Rights Network (SNHR) said 148 civilians were killed by Assad loyalists and 327 civilians and captured militants were killed by Syrian security forces.
The Syrian government has not released the number of casualties, and the guardian cannot independently verify the number of deaths.
Syria’s transitional president Ahmed Al-Sharaa said the developments were “expected challenges” and called on the country to unite. “We must uphold national unity and domestic peace; we can live together,” he said in a video spread by Arab media, speaking at a mosque near Mazzah, Damascus in his childhood.
Later on Sunday, the Syrian president announced the establishment of a seven-member committee of judges and a lawyer, whose mission is to investigate the killings of civilians and security forces in northwestern Syria. The committee was established to “realize civil peace and reveal the truth” and will issue a report within 30 days.
Three months after the Islamic rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) defeated Bashar al-Assad, and three months after opposition fighters, the broader coordinated attack was the biggest challenge for the country’s Islamic authorities.
The Syrian government said “individual actions” led to the killing of civilians and the influx of coastal combatants led to human rights violations.
Advisors to the Syrian Foreign Ministry estimate that 4,000 Assad loyalists were involved in the attack. The video shows the bodies of Syrian security personnel scattered on the streets, seemingly rushing to bury them in a large grave in the coastal province of Tartus. The guardian cannot independently verify the content of these videos.
“There are reports that the security forces of the caretaker authorities and elements related to the former government are enforced on the denomination by unidentified perpetrators,” Turik said in a statement.
The wave of revenge killings (mostly targeting the Alawites) by Syrian security forces in coastal communities shocked the fear of the Alawites. The Syrian coast is largely populated by the sect, and although most of the Alavis have nothing to do with the Assad regime, they are praised by the deposed Syrian president.
According to SNHR, the video shows dozens of bodies of people wearing civilian costumes piled up in the town of Al-Mukhtariya, with more than 40 people killed at one time.
Other videos show fighters in security uniforms killing people with pointed heads and ordering men to bark and beat prisoners like dogs. The guardian cannot independently verify the videos.
A man from the town of Al-Sanobar in Latakia details how the gunman killed at least 14 neighbors from the Arris family, including a 75-year-old father and his three sons in front of his mother.
“After killing his father and his boy, they asked the mother to take her gold away or they would kill her,” said the man who was close to his family but spoke under anonymous condition.
Another person in Latakia said that the past day, electricity and water in the area have been cut off and they have been sheltering in their houses, fearing militants on the streets. “No water, no power for more than 24 hours. These factions are killing anyone who appears in front of them. The bodies pile up on the street. It’s a collective punishment,” they said.
Rights groups say a true commitment to transitional justice and an inclusive government are crucial to preventing spiral violence in Syria. Syria’s transitional agency will announce a new government this month, which will conduct a careful review of representatives of Syria’s religious and racial diversity following this week’s violence.
New Syrian authorities may face more difficulties in lifting international sanctions following a wave of violence on the Syrian coast. Damascus has been seeking international powers to eliminate sanctions to help its troubled economy, which is seen as one of the major obstacles to stability in the country.
Western powers stressed that respecting the country’s minority will be the key to eliminating economic sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack, saying it was committed by “radical Islamic terrorists” and called on Damascus to hold the perpetrators accountable. “The United States, like the religion and ethnic minorities in Syria, includes Christianity, Druze, Alawian and Kurdish communities, and expresses condolences to the victims and their families,” he said.
