Syria's al-Sharaa launches probe into deadly clashes, vows accountability
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has launched an investigation after hundreds of people were killed in fighting between security forces and fighters loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous.
'We announce the formation of a fact-finding committee regarding the events on the coast and form a higher committee,' al-Sharaa said in an address to the nation on Sunday following days of violent unrest.
The Syrian leader said that the country was confronting attempts to drag it into a civil war. In his speech, al-Sharaa said that 'remnants of the former regime' had no choice but to surrender immediately as he vowed to hold accountable 'anyone involved in civilian bloodshed'.
The Syrian presidency earlier announced that an 'independent committee' had been formed to 'investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them', adding that the perpetrators would be referred to court.
'The Committee has the right to use whoever it deems appropriate to perform its duties, and submit its report to the Presidency of the Republic within a maximum period of thirty days from the date of issuance of this decision,' the presidency's statement read.
Latakia.
'Qardahah is symbolically an extremely important [city], because it is the birthplace of the al-Assad regime,' said Serdar, reporting from Damascus.
'But one of the critical locations … is Baniyas, in Tartous. Banias is home to the largest oil refinery in Syria, and the security forces are saying that remnants of the old regime [have] several times attempted to attack that oil refinery,' he added.
The violence in Banias came despite a call for peace by al-Sharaa earlier on Sunday.
Serdar said that Syrian security forces have reported a loss of 230 of their own personnel, while the majority of those killed have been civilians.
Deadly clashes
The fighting began after the pro-Assad fighters coordinated attacks on security forces on Thursday. The attacks spiralled into revenge killings as thousands of armed supporters of Syria's new leadership went to the coastal areas to support the security forces.
The clashes – which London-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said had already killed 1,000 people, mostly civilians – continued for a fourth day on Sunday. Syrians have circulated graphic videos of executions of civilians.
Al Jazeera has been unable to independently verify the casualty figures.
In the face of the clashes, al-Sharaa urged 'national unity' as he reassured a crowd at a mosque in his childhood neighbourhood of Mezzeh, in Damascus.
'We have to preserve national unity and domestic peace. We can live together,' the president said.
'Rest assured about Syria, this country has the characteristics for survival … What is currently happening in Syria is within the expected challenges.'
'A major setback'
United Nations rights chief Volker Turk demanded prompt investigations into the killings and said those responsible must be held to account. Turk said announcements by the country's authorities to respect the law need to be followed by action to protect Syrians and to ensure accountability for abuses.
According to Labib al-Nahhas, a Syrian opposition politician and activist, the violence is 'a major setback' for post-Assad Syria.
'What happened right now is a highly sophisticated, coordinated attack, instigated and supported by Iran and Hezbollah, according to data and intel that is available,' al-Nahhas told Al Jazeera.
'Iran, which is looking for new leverage in Syria … they are counting on the sectarian and religious tension that exists in Syria due to six decades of the Syrian regime. But this is where the new authorities have a chance to show a different kind of tone and way.'
The new government must build 'a strong national, unified front' – the cornerstone of which 'would be a new transitional government that is truly inclusive, not [just] lip service', al-Nahhas said.
'It's the responsibility not only of the authorities, but also the entire Syrian society, to really focus on the positives, on the common ground.'
Regional stability
Jordan, meanwhile, hosted a regional conference on Sunday to discuss issues facing Syria such as security, reconstruction and refugees. Top officials from Turkiye, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon joined the meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman.
'All of those countries sharing a border with Syria have a vested interest that there is stability and security for the new administration and for the Syrian people,' said Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman.
'For example, stability in Syria means that the millions of refugees that Turkiye and Jordan are hosting can return voluntarily to Syria,' she added.
'If there is stability and the rule of law and a united Syria, then Iraq can have more comfort in the fight against ISIS [ISIL]…. If there is stability and security, Jordan can also be more comfortable in the fight against drug trafficking, which has created a crisis for the Jordanian government.'
Al-Assad's overthrow in December ended more than five decades of dynastic rule by his family, which was marked by severe repression and a devastating war that erupted in 2011 after peaceful anti-government protests were met with a brutal security crackdown. Tens of thousands of Syrians were killed and millions were forced to flee the country or displaced internally as Syria descended into war.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump presides over Army parade: Celebration or ‘dictator behaviour'?
Washington, DC – It was the 250th birthday of the United States Army, and Trump's 79th. Tanks and other armoured military vehicles rumbled down the streets of Washington, DC, on Saturday, in what Trump had teased as an 'unforgettable' event and critics had called a pricey tribute to the 'egoist-in-chief'. Speaking after the hour-long procession, which cut through a balmy evening dotted with raindrops, Trump framed the spectacle as a long time coming. 'Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did, too,' he told the crowd, which sprawled sparsely across the National Mall. 'That's what we're doing tonight,' he said. Vice President JD Vance, who introduced the president at the end of the parade, was the only official to acknowledge the dual birthdays. 'June 14th is, of course, the birthday of the army. It is, of course, the birthday of the president of the United States,' he said. 'Happy birthday, Mr President.' For critics, the overlapping dates sent a disconcerting message. Away from the celebrations, among about 100 protesters at Logan Circle in Washington, DC, Terry Mahoney, a 55-year-old Marine veteran, described the parade as 'dictator behaviour'. 'If you take everything else he's done, stomping on the US Constitution, this parade may just be window dressing,' he told Al Jazeera. 'But it's the worst kind of window dressing,' said Mahoney, who was among the tens of thousands of protests who took to the streets nationally to oppose Trump's leadership on Saturday. 'So I wanted to make sure that my voice was represented today.' But blocks away, near the entrance to the heavily fortified parade route, Taras Voronyy, who travelled from South Carolina, was less concerned about the blurred lines of the parade than the soldiers it was honouring. 'It's a chance to celebrate the military, and also, Trump will be here,' he told Al Jazeera. 'I was actually a little confused if it was supposed to be for the Army's 250th anniversary or for Trump's birthday,' he said. 'So I guess it's a twofer.' A birthday celebration Trump had sought a massive military parade ever since attending a Bastille Day celebration in Paris in 2017, but faced pushback from defence officials during his first term. This time around, he sent 28 Abrams tanks, a horde of armoured vehicles, cavalry, military planes and helicopters, both modern and antique, to the US capital, in a show of military hardware without comparison since 1991, when the US marked the end of the Gulf War. Spectators gathered along Constitution Avenue – a thoroughfare that connects the White House to the US Capitol – for a pageant that stretched from the Army's 1775 birth, through World War II, the Vietnam War, and the so-called 'war on terror'. Trump's arrival prompted cheers, and a handful of jeers, from the crowd, which was dotted with red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats. Attendance appeared to be less than the military's prediction of about 200,000 people. For Freddie Delacruz, a 63-year-old US Army veteran who travelled from North Carolina for the parade, Trump's birthday and the Army celebration were distinct phenomena. 'It's a coincidence,' he said. 'I got married on June 6, which is the anniversary of D-day [the landing of allied forces on the beaches of Normandy, France].' 'So these things happen,' he said. 'But we're here to support the army. I spent 32 years in the army – I want to see the tanks, the planes, the helicopters flying around.' Delacruz also did not see much significance in Trump's deployment earlier this week of the US National Guard to California to respond to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and other cities. Local officials and rights advocates have said the deployment, which was soon followed by Trump sending Marines to protect federal property and personnel, represented a major escalation and overreach of presidential power. A judge on Thursday sided with a lawsuit filed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, ruling that Trump's deployment without the governor's approval was unlawful. However, an appeals court paused the ruling just hours later, allowing the deployment to temporarily continue. Delacruz acknowledged that Trump has 'got a lot of power… I mean, he's got the Department of Defense, he's got the Department of Department of State and now, all the Cabinet members are supporting him 100 percent'. 'But he's still just the president, and he can't control Congress,' he added. 'This is what the people voted for.' Aaron M, a 57-year-old Army veteran from Miami, Florida, also said he did not see an issue with how Trump has used federal forces in local law enforcement. Trump's decision was the first time since 1965 that a president had activated the National Guard without a governor's consent. Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have indicated that the approach could be replicated across the country. In recent days, Trump has also floated invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would allow US troops to take part in domestic law enforcement, in what critics call a step towards martial law, but has not yet done so. 'If governors can't get their states under control, then Trump should send [the National Guard] in,' said Aaron, who declined to give his last name. 'Look, I was born in Nicaragua. I came here when I was 12,' Aaron added. 'I know what a dictator is. This is not a dictator,' he said, motioning to the grandstand from where Trump watched the parade. For Anahi Rivas-Rodriguez, a 24-year-old from McAllen, Texas, the military pageantry underscored a more troubling turn, which she said included Trump's hardline immigration policies melding with the country's military might. 'I have a lot of people in my life who are scared. We do not belong in a fear in America,' said Rivas-Rodriguez, who joined a group of protesters marching in front of the White House. 'I do not stand by an America that tears families apart and targets people because they look brown and they look Mexican,' she said, her eyes welling up, 'because they look like me'. Trump earlier this week described the protesters as 'people who hate the country', adding that those who came out on Saturday would be 'met with very big force'. Rivas-Rodriguez bristled. 'Protesting is patriotic, and I am here for my country because I care about America,' she said. 'Maybe I'm a little intimidated [by Trump], but I am not scared because I am still here.' About 60 arrests were made in a protest at the US Capitol late on Friday, but no major incidents were reported in the US capital on Saturday, with many groups choosing to hold protests elsewhere. The organisers of the national 'No Kings' protests held no official event in DC, despite hosting demonstrations in about 2,000 cities across the country. In a statement, the group said they did so to avoid 'allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity'. Still, Roland Roebuck, a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Puerto Rico, said he wanted to attend the parade in protest to send a message. 'Trump has been allergic to military service and deeply disrespectful of the military,' he said, pointing to Trump's medical exemption from serving in Vietnam due to 'bone spurs', in what critics have said amounted to draft dodging. Roebuck said the parade – with a price tag of between $25m and $45m – rings tone deaf at a time when Trump has been rolling back federal services, including those that affect veterans. He also accused Trump of 'erasing' the contributions of Black soldiers like himself through his administration's anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) campaign at the Pentagon. 'Many of the people that are here are very confused with respect to what this parade represents,' Roebuck said. 'This represents a farce.'
Qatar Tribune
15 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Nippon Steel's $11 billion US steel investment cleared under Trump order
Agencies President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for a Nippon Steel investment in U.S. Steel, so long as the Japanese company complies with a 'national security agreement' submitted by the federal government. Trump's order didn't detail the terms of the national security agreement. But the iconic American steelmaker and Nippon Steel said in a joint statement that the agreement stipulates that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028 and includes giving the U.S. government a ' golden share ' — essentially veto power to ensure the country's national security interests are protected against cutbacks in steel production. 'We thank President Trump and his Administration for their bold leadership and strong support for our historic partnership,' the two companies said. 'This partnership will bring a massive investment that will support our communities and families for generations to come. We look forward to putting our commitments into action to make American steelmaking and manufacturing great again.' The companies have completed a U.S. Department of Justice review and received all necessary regulatory approvals, the statement said. 'The partnership is expected to be finalized promptly,' the statement said. U.S. Steel rose $2.66, or 5%, to $54.85 in afterhours trading Friday. Nippon Steel's original bid to buy the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel in late 2023 had been valued at $55 per share. The companies offered few details on how the golden share would work, what other provisions are in the national security agreement and how specifically the $11 billion would be spent. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the order 'ensures U.S. Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security.' James Brower, a Morrison Foerster lawyer who represents clients in national security-related matters, said such agreements with the government typically are not disclosed to the public, particularly by the government. They can become public, but it's almost always disclosed by a party in the transaction, such as a company — like U.S. Steel — that is publicly held, Brower said. The mechanics of how a golden share would work will depend on the national security agreement, but in such agreements it isn't unusual to give the government approval rights over specific activities, Brower said. U.S. Steel made no filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Nippon Steel originally offered nearly $15 billion to purchase U.S. Steel in an acquisition that had been delayed on national security concerns starting during Joe Biden's presidency. As it sought to win over American officials, Nippon Steel gradually increased the amount of money it was pledging to invest into U.S. Steel. American officials now value the transaction at $28 billion, including the purchase bid and a new electric arc furnace — a more modern steel mill that melts down scrap — that they say Nippon Steel will build in the U.S. after 2028. Nippon Steel had pledged to maintain U.S. Steel's headquarters in Pittsburgh, put U.S. Steel under a board with a majority of American citizens and keep plants operating. It also said it would protect the interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters and it wouldn't import steel slabs that would compete with U.S. Steel's blast furnaces in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Trump opposed the purchase while campaigning for the White House, and using his authority Biden blocked the transaction on his way out of the White House. But Trump expressed openness to working out an arrangement once he returned to the White House in January. Trump said Thursday that he would as president have 'total control' of what U.S. Steel did as part of the investment. Trump said then that the deal would preserve '51% ownership by Americans,' although Nippon Steel has never backed off its stated intention of buying and controlling U.S. Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary. 'We have a golden share, which I control,' Trump said. Trump added that he was 'a little concerned' about what presidents other than him would do with their golden share, 'but that gives you total control.' The proposed merger had been under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, during the Trump and Biden administrations. The order signed Friday by Trump said the CFIUS review provided 'credible evidence' that Nippon Steel 'might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,' but such risks might be 'adequately mitigated' by approving the proposed national security agreement. The order doesn't detail the perceived national security risk and only provides a timeline for the national security agreement. The White House declined to provide details on the terms of the agreement. The order said the draft agreement was submitted to U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel on Friday. The two companies must successfully execute the agreement as decided by the Treasury Department and other federal agencies that are part CFIUS by the closing date of the transaction. Trump reserves the authority to issue further actions regarding the investment as part of the order he signed on Friday.
Qatar Tribune
15 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Egypt deports more activists seeking to march to Gaza border
dpa Cairo Egyptian authorities have continued to send home foreign activists, who are trying to march to Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian enclave, sources at Cairo airport said on Saturday. Dozens of activists of different nationalities were prevented from entering Egypt for violating the country's entry procedures and were deported on the same planes that had earlier brought them to Cairo, the sources said on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. The aircraft were not granted permission to take off until the deportation procedures were completed, a measure that caused several flights to be delayed by 20-40 minutes, according to the sources. Participants in the self-styled 'Global March to Gaza' had originally planned to travel from Cairo to the Egyptian city of Al Arish in Sinai, where they were to walk for about 50 kilometres to Rafah on the border with Gaza. The activists also planned to protest at the Rafah border crossing for several days starting on Sunday. Protests are heavily restricted in Egypt. Organizers said many participants had been detained, harassed, physically harmed and deported. Hundreds of activists were detained on Friday in the Egyptian city of Ismailia near the Suez Canal and had their passports confiscated, a security source said. Carola Rackete, a lawmaker in the European Parliament from Germany's The Left party, posted a video on Instagram on Friday in which she said she was turned away at one of the checkpoints. She and the other activists were purportedly loaded by force onto buses by security forces and sent back to Cairo. There was massive police violence, Rackete said in a second video posted Saturday. There was no official Egyptian comment. In recent days, dozens of pro-Gaza activists have been arrested and deported by Egyptian authorities, organizers and sources in Cairo said. Earlier in the week, Egypt required the participants in the campaign to obtain prior entry visas or permits. The activists say they want to draw attention to the worsening humanitarian situation in the populous enclave.
