Fighters loyal to Syria's government kill dozens in reprisal attacks
The fighters stormed several villages near the country's coast, killing dozens of men believed to be linked to the regime of former President Bashar Assad.
ADVERTISEMENT
The ongoing clashes between the two sides have marked the worst violence since Assad's government was toppled in early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The new government has pledged to unite Syria after 14 years of civil war.
The coastal village assaults erupted on Thursday and continued into Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
More than 200 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to the Britain-based group reported. In addition to around 140 killed in apparent revenge attacks in the villages, the dead include at least 50 members of Syria's government forces and 45 fighters loyal to Assad. The civil war that has been raging in Syria since March 2011 has left more than half a million people dead and millions displaced.
The most recent clashes began when government forces tried to detain a wanted person near the coastal city of Jableh on Thursday and were ambushed by Assad loyalists, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On Thursday and Friday, gunmen loyal to the new government stormed the villages of Sheer, Mukhtariyeh and Haffah near the coast, killing 69 men but harming no women, according to the observatory.
'They killed every man they encountered,' said observatory chief Rami Abdurrahman.
Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV also reported the attacks on the three villages, saying that more than 30 men were killed in the village of Mukhtariyeh alone.
Another 60 people were killed in the town of Baniyas, including women and children, the observatory said.
Syrian authorities did not publish a death toll, but Syria's state news agency SANA quoted an unidentified security official as saying that numerous people went to the coast seeking revenge for recent attacks on government security forces. The official said the actions "led to some individual violations and we are working on stop them.'
Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in a video statement called on armed groups affiliated with the former government to hand over their weapons and for those loyal to the new government to avoid attacking civilians or abusing prisoners.
'When we compromise our ethics, we reduce ourselves to the same level as our enemy,' he said. 'The remnants of the fallen regime are looking for a provocation that will lead to violations behind which they can seek refuge.'
Coastal towns still under the control of Assad loyalists
Overnight, Damascus sent reinforcements to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus and nearby villages that are home to Assad's minority Alawite sect and make up his longtime base of support. A curfew remained in effect in Latakia and other coastal areas.
Under Assad, Alawites held top posts in the army and security agencies. The new government has blamed his loyalists for attacks against the country's new security forces over the past several weeks. There also have been some attacks against Alawites in recent weeks, though the new government says it won't allow collective punishment or sectarian vengeance.
As of Friday, the observatory said, Jableh and the coastal town of Baniyas were still under the control of Assad loyalists, along with other Alawite villages nearby and Assad's hometown of Qardaha, in the mountains overlooking Latakia.
One Qardaha resident told The Associated Press in a text message that government forces were firing with heavy machine guns in the town's residential areas. Another said people had not been able to leave their homes since Thursday afternoon because of the intensity of the shooting. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
ADVERTISEMENT
The fighting could stoke more sectarian tensions
Gregory Waters, an associate fellow with the Middle East Institute who has researched Syria's coastal areas, said he doesn't expect the flareup to escalate into sustained fighting between the two sides. However, he said he was concerned it could stoke cycles of violence between different civilian communities living along the coast.
Also, any violations by the security forces sent from Damascus would leave young Alawite men more fearful of the new government — and more prone to take up arms, Waters said.
In Damascus, a crowd gathered in the rain at Umayyad Square to show support for the new government.
"We've had enough of long periods of wars and tragedies,' said retiree Mazen Abdelmajeed. He blamed the violence on remnants of the former regime and said Syria's unity must be preserved.
ADVERTISEMENT
'No one wants a civil war to happen,' he said. 'We're not against any of the components of the Syrian people. … We're all one Syrian people.'
Qutaiba Idlbi, a research fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said that apart from the danger of sectarian escalation, the violence had laid bare a 'big security challenge for the government in terms of potentially its inability to address multiple security threats on multiple fronts across the country." Armed groups opposed to the new authorities may take note, he said.
Syrian people ask Russia for help
Scores of people gathered on Friday outside the main Russian air base in Syria near Jableh to ask Moscow for protection. Russia joined Syria's conflict in 2015, siding with Assad, although it has since established links with the new government. Assad has been living in Moscow since leaving Syria in December.
Russia's foreign ministry said in a written statement that Moscow is 'closely coordinating efforts with foreign partners in the interests of a speedy de-escalation of the situation.'
ADVERTISEMENT
'We reaffirm our principled position in support of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic,' the statement said. 'We expect that all states that have influence on the situation in Syria will contribute to its normalization.'
A warning from Turkey
Turkey, which backed the insurgents when Assad was still in power, warned on Friday that the current fighting poses a serious threat to the new government.
'Intensive efforts are underway to establish security and stability in Syria," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said in a post on X. "At this critical juncture, the targeting of security forces could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Iran's nuclear programme: the key sites
Iran has significantly ramped up its nuclear programme in recent years, after a landmark deal with world powers curbing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanction relief began to unravel in 2018 when the United States unilaterally withdrew. As of mid-May, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was estimated at 9,247.6 kilograms -- or more than 45 times the limit set out in the 2015 deal -- according to the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Among its stockpiles, Iran has an estimated 408.6 kilograms enriched to up to 60 percent -- just a short step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. The country now theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for about 10 nuclear bombs, according to the definition by the Vienna-based IAEA. But Iran has always denied any ambition to develop nuclear weapons. Below is a list of Iran's key nuclear sites, which are subject to regular inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog: Uranium enrichment plants Natanz About 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Tehran, Natanz is Iran's heavily bunkered main uranium enrichment site, whose existence was first revealed in 2002. Natanz operates nearly 70 cascades of centrifuges at its two enrichment plants, one of which is underground. A cascade is a series of centrifuges -- machines used in the process of enriching uranium. In April 2021, the site was damaged in an attack that Iran said was an act of sabotage by Israel. On Friday, Israel's operation struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", targeting the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. IAEA head Rafael Grossi confirmed the Natanz site was "among targets". Fordo Secretly built in violation of United Nations resolutions under a mountain near the holy central city of Qom, Fordo was first publicly revealed in 2009. Initially described as an "emergency" facility built underground to protect it from potential air attacks, Iran later indicated it was an enrichment plant capable of housing about 3,000 centrifuges. In 2023, uranium particles enriched up to 83.7 percent were discovered at the Fordo plant, which Iran claimed were the product of "unintended fluctuations" during the enrichment process. Uranium conversion and research reactors Isfahan At the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan in central Iran, raw mined uranium is processed into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) and then into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a feed gas for centrifuges. The plant was industrially tested in 2004 upon its completion. The Isfahan centre also harbours a nuclear fuel fabrication facility, which was inaugurated in 2009 and produces low-enriched fuel for use in power plants. In July 2022, Iran announced plans to construct a new research reactor there. Arak Work on the Arak heavy-water research reactor on the outskirts of the village of Khondab began in the 2000s, but was halted under the terms of the 2015 deal. Iran has meanwhile informed the IAEA about its plans to commission the reactor by 2026. The research reactor was officially intended to produce plutonium for medical research and the site includes a production plant for heavy water. Tehran The Tehran nuclear research centre houses a reactor that was supplied by the United States in 1967 for the production of medical radioisotopes. Nuclear power plant Bushehr Iran's only nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr was built by Russia and began operating at a lower capacity in 2011 before being plugged into the national power grid in 2012. Russia continues to deliver nuclear fuel for the plant, which remains under IAEA control. A German company began construction on the plant with a 1,000-megawatt nominal capacity until the project was halted in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Moscow later completed it. Darkhovin and Sirik Iran began construction in late 2022 on a 300-megawatt power plant in Darkhovin, in the country's southwest. In early 2024, it also began work in Sirik, in the Strait of Hormuz, on a new complex of four individual plants with a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts. © 2025 AFP
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Attacking Iran, Israel brazenly defies 'man of peace' Trump
Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of Trump's closest international allies, brazenly defied his advice by unleashing a major military campaign described as a "preemptive" strike against Iran's nuclear program. The attack marks only the latest setback for Trump's lofty goal set out at the start of his second term of being a "man of peace." Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump has also boasted a warm relationship, has rebuffed his overtures on a ceasefire with Ukraine. And Israel resumed another massive offensive in Gaza after talks bogged down on extending a ceasefire with Hamas reached with Trump's support at the end of his predecessor Joe Biden's term. Trump's friend and roving envoy Steve Witkoff -- who has negotiated in all three crises -- had been set to meet Iranian officials again Sunday in Oman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement made clear the United States was not involved in attacking Iran and warned Tehran not to retaliate against US troops in the region. Rubio said that Israel advised that it attacked out of "self-defense," but conspicuously did not say if the United States agreed. Trump, hours before the strikes, doubled down with a social media post saying he remained "committed to a diplomatic resolution" on Iran. Netanyahu has described Iran's cleric-run government, which backs Hamas, as an existential threat and already last year ordered strikes that knocked out its air defenses. "We've clearly seen a fork in the road in the American and Israeli approaches to this problem set," said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official who is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "These strikes are going to disrupt and delay and degrade Iran's nuclear program. The question, I think, is whether or not the United States and Israel in the future are going to work together on what to do to maximize the time that's put back on the clock," she said. Increasingly at odds Stroul noted that rifts had been building between Israel and Trump, who last month agreed to remove sanctions on Syria after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa swept into power. Trump embraced the new Syrian leader after appeals on a tour of Gulf Arab monarchies -- which have also backed diplomacy on Iran. In Qatar last month, Trump said after meeting the emir that he believed a deal was in sight with Iran and that there would be no "nuclear dust" over the region. Despite growing disagreements, Israel enjoys robust support in Trump's right-wing base. The Trump administration in recent days has again taken lonely positions to back Israel, with the United States casting one of the only votes at the UN General Assembly against a Gaza ceasefire resolution and criticizing top allies, including Britain, for imposing sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers. Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the Israeli attack will "destroy US diplomatic efforts" on Iran and called for Trump to reject any US military role in protecting Israel from retaliation. "Israel has the right to choose its own foreign policy. At the same time, it has the responsibility to bear the costs of that policy," he said. But lawmakers in Trump's Republican Party quickly rallied behind Israel. Senator Tom Cotton said that the United States should "back Israel to the hilt, all the way," and topple Iran's Islamic Republic if it targets US troops. Trump's Democratic rivals, who mostly backed his diplomacy on Iran, were aghast at Israel's action on the eve of new US-Iran talks. "Israel's alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence," said Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Forces Committee.
France 24
21 hours ago
- France 24
In Nigeria, the juntas are history, but street names live forever
To name a few: Sani Abacha Way takes commuters into downtown Abuja. Ibrahim Babangida Way meanwhile cuts through upscale Maitama. Murtala Muhammed Expressway passes next to the presidency and the National Assembly, where Tinubu delivered his Democracy Day speech. All three are named after the heads of military juntas. As other countries in west Africa have gone on a renaming spree -- mostly throwing out roads named for colonial figures -- Nigeria's strongmen have survived this final, symbolic purge. All eight of Nigeria's military leaders have at least one street named after them in the capital -- a fact that's often met with a shrug, even as Thursday's holiday celebrates the transition to civilian rule in 1999 after decades of coups and military rule. "Some leaders, because of their stature, a road can be named after them," said Ibrahim Hassan, 45, an employee at a corner store. "It's not about whether you've done the best for Nigeria." A woman ringing up her groceries, who gave her name only as Adekemi, chimed in with an indifferent laugh: "Right now I'm focusing on how to afford this." 'House the military built' Abuja -- a planned city that became Nigeria's capital in 1991 under Babangida -- "is the house that the military built, so naturally they paid homage to themselves" said Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy. While data from pollster Afrobarometer has shown consistent public support for democracy in Nigeria, "the military is still a formidable, well-regarded institution, seen by many as comparatively disciplined and well run" after 26 years of often chaotic civilian rule. Former military chiefs have also entered civilian politics, rehabilitating their image -- including Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, both elected president in the democratic era. In the United States and Europe, activists in recent years clamoured to have streets renamed to address colonial or racist legacies -- though those moves weren't always without pushback. In west Africa, including in Senegal and Ivory Coast, governments have ditched boulevards named after French leaders and renamed them after their own countrymen. "We have not fully grasped what democracy is about," lamented Edwin Ajibola, 42, who as an Uber driver, makes his living plying roads named after strongmen. Tinubu too, while praising in his speech "how far we had come as a nation", acknowledged that "we still have so much, and a lot, for that to go." Earlier this week, he found himself directly facing his predecessors' infrastructural legacy when the minister of the Federal Capital Territory renamed Abuja's International Conference Centre after the president. Amid the political squabbling in the aftermath, one former lawmaker suggested the move would unfairly obscure the head of state who oversaw its building: junta head Babangida.
