The Guardian view on Syria's hopes and fears: stability can't be built without the people
In March, hundreds of mostly Alawite civilians were massacred along the coast, after an ambush of security forces by supporters of the ousted dictator, Bashar al-Assad, a member of the sect. Then, this month, a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze minority in the southern region of Sweida swiftly escalated into horrific sectarian mass violence, involving Syrian government forces.
Armed clashes, bombardments, summary executions and then Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds of people, including civilians. What is perhaps most alarming is the speed with which incidents can spiral, and the inability or unwillingness of the new government to control what is less an army than a ragbag of militias and warlords.
Mr Sharaa has been adept at winning over his international audience, but much less so at addressing his domestic one. He has made gestures towards inclusivity, but substance has been much less evident. His leadership must straddle a fundamental contradiction: he needs to keep an extremist sectarian base on side – with Islamic State and others trying to lure members away – while reassuring the rest of a fragmented and deeply scarred country that he can protect them and meet at least their basic needs.
The Assads weaponised intercommunal divisions to bolster their rule. Many people are seeking redress or retaliation for abuses committed under the old regime. The ubiquity of weapons after years of war and the desire of militia leaders to defend their interests adds to the danger, as does competition for scant economic resources.
Israel's intervention this month – purportedly in defence of the Druze, a significant minority in Israel – has deepened the crisis. It has occupied additional territory and has clearly been working to reduce Syrian military capabilities and to undermine the leadership. Striking the defence ministry in Damascus didn't just send a message 'regarding the events in Sweida' but about its broader intentions. The US, which recognises that Syria's disintegration is not in its interests, has sought to rein Israel in and must continue doing so.
Amid this bleak outlook, there are still notes of hope, especially in persistent grassroots efforts to tackle intercommunal violence through dialogue and to pursue transitional justice. These two priorities are interconnected: without ending impunity for the events of recent months and past decades, Syria cannot hope to establish the trust on which effective discussions depend.
The government has paid lip service to transitional justice but has yet to name those it believes accountable for the slaughter in March – despite evidence on social media as well as from witnesses. It says there will be 'no tolerance' of abuses by anyone in Sweida. Terrified minorities will want to see proof of that assertion. Improved accountability, and commitment to building relations between communities, are not indulgences for happier and more prosperous times, but the foundation stones required for a successful nation. A Syria that is not inclusive and protective cannot hope to survive and thrive.
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The Guardian
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We are Israeli human rights activists. Our country is committing genocide
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Our moral and human obligation is to amplify the voices of the victims. Our political and historical responsibility is also to turn our gaze to the perpetrators, and to testify, in real time, to how a society transforms into one capable of committing genocide. Recognizing this truth is not easy. Even for us, people who have spent years documenting state violence against Palestinians, the mind resists it. It rejects the facts like poison, tries to spit them out. But the poison is here. It floods the bodies of those who live between the river and the sea – Palestinians and Israelis alike – with fear and unfathomable loss. The Israeli state is committing genocide. And once you accept that, the question we have asked ourselves all our lives rematerializes with urgency: What would I have done, back then, on that other planet? Except the answer is not rhetorical. It is now. It is us. And there is only one right answer: We must do everything in our power to stop it. 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The Guardian
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Freed British-Israeli hostage accuses Starmer of ‘moral failure' over move to recognise Palestine
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