
New Syrian leader Sharaa says killings of Alawites threaten unity, vows justice
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country, and promised to punish those responsible, including his own allies if necessary.
In his first interview to a global news agency, held after hundreds died in four days of clashes between Alawite Muslims and Syria's new Sunni Islamist authorities, Sharaa blamed pro-Assad groups backed by foreigners for triggering the bloodshed but acknowledged that revenge killings had followed.
"Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all," he told Reuters from the Damascus presidential palace, where Assad resided until Sharaa's forces toppled him on December 8, forcing the ousted ruler to flee to Moscow.
"We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won't accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or goes without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us," Sharaa said.
In a wide-ranging interview, Sharaa also said that his government had had no contacts with the United States since President Donald Trump had taken office. He repeated pleas for Washington to lift sanctions imposed in the Assad era.
He also held out the prospect of restoring relations with Moscow, Assad's backer throughout the war, which is trying to retain two major military bases in Syria.
He rejected criticism from Israel, which has captured territory in southern Syria since Assad was toppled. And he said he aimed to resolve differences with Kurds, including by meeting the head of a Kurdish-led group long backed by Washington.
While he blamed the outbreak of violence in recent days on a former military unit loyal to Assad's brother and an unspecified foreign power, he acknowledged that in response "many parties entered the Syrian coast and many violations occurred."
"It became an opportunity for revenge" for years of pent-up grievances, he said, although he said the situation had since been largely contained.
Sharaa said 200 members of the security forces had been killed in the unrest, while declining to say the overall death toll pending an investigation, which will be conducted by an independent committee announced on Sunday before his interview.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


MTV Lebanon
6 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
Israeli Forces Seize Gaza Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg
Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel. The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there. However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the FFC said on its Telegram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it was under Israeli control. "The 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries," the ministry wrote on X. All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added. "They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over." Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. "The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m.," Hassan posted on X. A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air. The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas. Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war. Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists. Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West. The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations. The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade. "Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza," she wrote on X.


Ya Libnan
10 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
California governor calls Trump a 'dictator', says National Guard deployment in LA unlawful
A man waves a Mexican flag as smoke and flames rise from a burning vehicle during a protest against federal immigration sweeps, near Los Angeles City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson California National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday to help quell a third day of protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement, a step the state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, called unlawful. Police were making more arrests after at least 10 on Sunday and 29 the previous night, Los Angeles police officers told a news briefing. National Guard troops guarded federal government buildings, as police and protesters clashed in separate demonstrations over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles. Los Angeles police declared several rallies to be 'unlawful assemblies', accusing some protesters of throwing concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police. Video images showed several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening. Los Angeles police officers on horseback attempted to control the crowds. Demonstrators shouted 'Shame on you!' at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare. Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing U.S. immigration authorities, gathered in spots around the city. The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized speakers outside City Hall for an afternoon rally. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he requested the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles county, calling it unlawful. In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom said he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Trump 'has created the conditions' around the protests. Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,' he wrote in a post on X. However, Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing on Sunday night that the protests were getting out of control. Asked if the National Guard was needed, McDonnell said police would not 'go to that right away,' but added, 'Looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment.' In a social media post, Trump called on McDonnell to do so. 'He should, right now!!!' Trump added. 'Don't let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!' The White House disputed Newsom's characterization, saying in a statement, 'Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness.' Earlier, about a dozen National Guard, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed. U.S. Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property. In a social media post on Sunday, Trump called the demonstrators 'violent, insurrectionist mobs' and said he was directing his cabinet officers 'to take all such action necessary' to stop what he called 'riots.' Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or National Guard troops, saying, 'They spit, we hit.' He did not cite any specific incidents. 'If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order,' Trump said. The FBI offered a $50,000-reward for information on a suspect accused of throwing rocks at police vehicles in Paramount, injuring a federal officer. Despite Trump's rhetoric about the demonstrations, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events like civil disorder. Asked on Sunday whether he was considering doing so, he said, 'It depends on whether or not there's an insurrection.' 'HIGH ALERT' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active-duty troops 'if violence continues' in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on 'high alert.' U.S. Northern Command said about 500 Marines were prepared to deploy if ordered. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard, but also condemned protesters who became violent. 'I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily,' Bass told a press conference. Vanessa Cárdenas, the head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of 'trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration.' On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' 'Face the Nation' that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting ICE a goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants a day. Census data suggests a significant part of the population in Democratic-run Los Angeles is Hispanic and foreign-born. But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included legally residents, some with permanent residence, spurring legal challenges. On Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the U.S. government over the immigration raids and National guard deployment. 'We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue,' Sheinbaum, who has sought to cultivate a positive relationship with Trump, said at a public event. 'The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform.' TRUMP'S JUSTIFICATION Trump's justification for the National Guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the U.S. Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the 'orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States.' It was not immediately clear if the president had the legal authority to deploy the National Guard without Newsom's order. Title 10 allows for National Guard deployment by the federal government if there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.' Those troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities. Trump's memo says the troops will 'temporarily protect ICE and other United States government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring, or are likely to occur.'


MTV Lebanon
a day ago
- MTV Lebanon
Russian attacks on Ukraine's Kharkiv kills four, wounds at least 60
Russia attacked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv at night and in the evening with drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing at least four people and injuring more than 60, including a baby, local officials said on Saturday. One of Ukraine's largest cities, Kharkiv is located just a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border and has been under constant Russian shelling during more than three years of war. "Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war," city mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on the Telegram messenger early on Saturday. Dozens of explosions were heard in the city through the night and Russian troops were striking simultaneously with missiles, drones and guided aerial bombs, he said. Multi-storey and private residential buildings, educational and infrastructure facilities were attacked, Terekhov noted. Photos by local authorities and Reuters showed burnt and partially destroyed houses and vehicles, and of rescuers carrying those injured to safety and removing debris. Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said that one of the city's civilian industrial facilities was attacked by 40 drones, one missile and four bombs, causing a fire, adding there may still be people under the rubble. In the evening, Russian aircraft once again attacked Kharkiv with guided bombs, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called "another brutal murder". "It was a brutal blow to the city in broad daylight, and in fact, they have been attacking our city of Kharkiv for the entire day," Zelenskiy said in his evening statement. "Last night, there was a massive drone strike on Kharkiv, and now there are aerial bombs. Dozens of people have been injured in the past 24 hours." he said. The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 206 drones, two ballistic and seven other missiles against Ukraine overnight. It said its air defence units shot down 87 drones while another 80 drones were lost - in reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them - or they were drone simulators that did not carry warheads. Ten locations were hit, the military said.