Syrian commission of inquiry releases report on mass killings in Alawite regions
The efforts at transparency of transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa − who broke with the practices of the al-Assad dictatorship by appointing an independent commission on March 9 to investigate the violence against the Alawites − were welcomed by Syrian and international organizations and NGOs. However, after reading the inquiry's report, these groups have lamented that the national commission has absolved Syrian military leaders of any responsibility; this major shortcoming could risk perpetuating a cycle of impunity and vengeance within Syria.

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LeMonde
9 hours ago
- LeMonde
Southern Syria's Bedouins, the other victims of the battle for
A Syrian Red Crescent vehicle preceded the small bus as it made its way through the no-man's land separating the last checkpoint manned by Druze factions at the foot of the Jabal al-Druze mountain from the checkpoint controlled by the general security, the Syrian police, in Busra, near the Jordanian border. Around 20 Bedouins were evacuated from and surrounding villages on Thursday, July 24, at midday. "We are scared. The situation is not yet stable. We prefer to leave and wait for things to calm down," said a man in his 30s from Rsas, a mixed Bedouin-Druze village south of Sweidaefused to give his name for security reasons. Two of his cousins, who are farmers aged 30 and 35, were captured by Druze fighters on July 17. "For the first two days, we knew where they were and who was holding them. But when their captors realized this, they moved them and only told us that they were alive. They let me hear their voices. They were completely broken. I could tell by their voices that they had been mistreated," the Bedouin said, careful to share as little as possible. "Those who arrested them are civilians, but they took them to the Military Council of , the largest faction in the predominantly Druze city in southern Syria," he finally said. "They asked us to put pressure on the clans to release their Druze prisoners in exchange."

LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
Syria: After Druze killings, Sweida barricades itself in defiance of Syrian authorities
The residential dead end of Masakin al-Khoudr resembles a war zone. Cars have been crushed by tanks. Buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes. Some apartments are charred. At the foot of one building, Abu Ahmed and his neighbors stood guard with rifles slung over their shoulders on Wednesday, July 23, eight days after government forces entered their neighborhood in western Sweida. "I am protecting my house and my children in case the army comes back, even though I couldn't do much against a tank," admitted the 50-year-old vegetable grower, wearing the white skullcap and mustache typical of the Druze. Encircled by Bedouin tribal fighters and government forces, the majority-Druze city in southern Syria remains on high alert despite the ceasefire in effect since Saturday, July 19. Residents have barricaded themselves in fear of another offensive. Clashes continue between Druze factions and Bedouins in villages north and west of the city. Roadblocks, marked by mounds of earth and manned by local fighters, dot the city and surrounding countryside. The Sweida Military Council – a coalition of Druze factions formed after the fall of the al-Assad regime in December 2024 – escorts journalists inside the city. Civilians walk around with Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders, prepared for any eventuality. Weapons are commonplace in this province, which had been left to criminal gangs and local factions after the 2011 revolution, and which was targeted in 2018 by an attack from the Islamic State group (IS). "I raised my sons not to hurt anyone. I won't teach them how to use weapons. We want peace in our country, Syria. But foreigners are attacking us," said Ahmed, standing with his two sons, aged 13 and 16. He insisted that foreign fighters were among those who attacked the neighborhood.


Local France
a day ago
- Local France
France's top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria's Assad
The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, "new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him" and as such the investigation into the case could continue. Human rights advocates had hoped the court would rule that immunity did not apply because of the severity of the allegations, which would have set a major precedent in international law towards holding accused war criminals to account. They said that, in this regard, it was a missed opportunity. "This ruling represents a setback for the global fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law," said Mazen Darwish, the head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a civil party to the case. French authorities issued the warrant against Assad in November 2023 over his alleged role in the chain of command for a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4 and 5, 2013 in Adra and Douma outside Damascus. Assad is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case. Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed rebels. Universal jurisdiction The French judiciary tackled the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, whereby a court may prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries. An investigation -- based on testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photos and video footage -- led to warrants for the arrest of Assad, his brother Maher who headed an elite army unit, and two generals. Advertisement Public prosecutors approved three of the warrants, but issued an appeal against the one targeting Assad, arguing he should have immunity as a head of state. The Paris Court of Appeal in June last year however upheld it, and prosecutors again appealed. But in December, Assad's circumstances changed. He and his family fled to Russia, according to Russian authorities, after Islamist-led fighters seized power from him. In January, French investigating magistrates issued a second arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian. 'Great victory' The Court of Cassation said Assad's so called "personal immunity", granted because of his office, meant he could not be targeted by arrest warrants until his ouster. But it ruled that "functional immunity", which is granted to people who perform certain functions of state, could be lifted in the case of accusations of severe crimes. Thus it upheld the French judiciary's indictment in another case against ex-governor of the Central Bank of Syria and former finance minister, Adib Mayaleh. Advertisement He has been accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity over alleged funding of the Assad government during Syria's civil war. Mayaleh obtained French nationality in 1993, and goes by the name Andre Mayard on his French passport. Darwish, the Syrian lawyer, said that part of the court's ruling was however a "great victory". "It establishes the principle that no agent of a foreign state, regardless of the position they hold, can invoke their immunity when international crimes are at stake," he said. Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes since its eruption in 2011 with the then-government's brutal crackdown on anti-Assad protests. Assad's fall on December 8, 2024 ended his family's five-decade rule.