Latest news with #Alawi
Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Syrian president says country should not be unified 'with blood'
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he rejected attempts at creating autonomy in Syria and warned that the country's unification "should not be with blood" following a month of sectarian violence. Speaking on state TV on Sunday, Sharaa pushed back against demands by hundreds of Druze protesters in Syria's southern Sweida province calling for self-determination for the religious minority. "We still have another battle ahead of us to unify Syria, and it should not be with blood and military force... it should be through some kind of understanding because Syria is tired of war," Sharaa said. Since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in December, Sharaa has struggled to stymie violence across the country, while a number of religious and political minorities have called for the decentralisation of power. "I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons... This matter is impossible," said Sharaa. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Some parties seek to gain power through regional power, Israel or others. This is also extremely difficult and cannot be implemented." Violence between members of the Druze minority, Bedouin tribesmen and state forces has seen more than 1,600 people killed in Sweida since the beginning of July. It also followed further violence in the coastal province of Latakia, where attacks by alleged Assad loyalists provoked a violent sectarian backlash against the minority Alawi population, of which the former president and his family were members. At least 1,500 Alawi were killed in the subsequent violence, with a Reuters investigation tracing much of it back to officials in Damascus. In his comments on Sunday, Sharaa conceded that they had "witnessed many violations from all sides... some members of the security forces and army in Syria also carried out some violations". He said the state was required "to hold all perpetrators of violations to account". Saturday's demonstrations in Sweida included calls for Sharaa's overthrow as well as displays of the Israeli flag. Israel bombed government forces last month, claiming it was acting to defend the Druze population. Sharaa's government has also been in talks with the semi-autonomous Kurdish-led administration that controls much of the north and northeast. Implementation of a 10 March deal on integrating its civil and military institutions into the state has been held up by arguments over issues such as decentralisation, which Damascus has rejected. Joseph Daher, a Swiss Syrian professor at the University of Lausanne, told Middle East Eye earlier this month that he was concerned by Sharaa's approach to Syria's post-Assad reconciliation. "Sharaa does not want to deal with political and social actors that are organised," he said. He told MEE that he saw the new government pursuing the creation of a new "ruling regime" with centralised power, but it still lacked the capacity to effectively assert its authority. "I think the lack and the failure to control Sweida, not only because of Israeli attacks, but also local resistance, is also an indication that this is one of the contradictions of this government," Daher said. "That it wants to seek monopolisation, centralisation of power, but at the same time is quite weak - whether militarily, human capacities, financially, politically."
5 days ago
- Politics
Syrian factions committed 'widespread and systematic' attacks on civilians: UN
BEIRUT -- A U.N.-backed commission that investigated sectarian violence on Syria's coast earlier this year found that there was 'widespread and systematic' violence against civilians perpetrated by some government-affiliated factions, but found no evidence that it was directed by the central government. An extensive report released Thursday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria examined the violence that began with clashes between armed groups aligned with former Syrian President Bashar Assad and the new government's security forces in March. It then spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks and massacres that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs. The violence came months after Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in December and at a time when the country's new rulers were attempting to forge a new national army out of a patchwork of former insurgent factions. The commission named several government-affiliated factions whose members allegedly took part in 'extrajudicial killings and torture and ill-treatment of primarily the civilian population of Alawi majority villages and neighborhoods in a manner that was both widespread and systematic" during the coastal violence. They include the 62nd and 76th divisions of the new Syrian army, also known as the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza Division — both of them formerly part of a coalition made up of Turkish-backed armed factions in northwest Syria. The report also singled out the 400th Division, made up of former brigades of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that was formerly led by Syria's current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. However, the report said the commission "found no evidence of a governmental policy or plan to carry out such attacks." It also found that pro-Assad armed groups had committed 'acts that likely amount to crimes, including war crimes" during the violence. A separate investigation into the coastal violence ordered by the government released its findings last month. It concluded that some members of the new Syrian military had committed 'widespread, serious violations against civilians,' but said there was no evidence that military leaders had ordered those attacks. The government investigation found that more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed. In a letter in response to Thursday's U.N. report, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the government takes 'serious note of the alleged violations' detailed in it the report and said that the recommendations — which included increased screening of recruits to the security forces and recruiting from minority communities — 'will serve as a roadmap for Syria's continued progress.' The U.N. commission's report noted that in the leadup to the coastal violence in March there had been scattered clashes between pro-Assad and new government forces as well as increasing incidents of 'harassment and violations" against Alawite communities, "including killings, abductions, looting or occupation of property.' In early March, pro-Assad armed groups launched a series of attacks on the General Security forces of the new government along the coast. During the clashes that followed, pro-Assad fighters also overran hospitals, shot at and abducted journalists coming to cover the conflict, and in at least one case shot and killed women and children, the report said. With the General Security forces overwhelmed, tens of thousands of fighters from allied factions, as well as armed civilians, converged on the coast. Many began raiding houses in Alawite-majority areas, where in many cases they 'asked civilians whether they were Sunni or Alawi' and 'Alawi men and boys were then taken away to be executed,' the report found. 'Most victims were men of Alawi background, aged between 20 to 50 years, though women and children as young as one year old were also killed during house raids,' the report said. In some cases, the bodies were then desecrated, and family members were prevented from burying their dead. The report also found that there had been widespread cases of robbery and looting by armed groups. The commission also investigated reports of kidnapping of Alawite women and found 'credible information' of at least six cases in the weeks preceding and following the main outbreak of violence in March. It is investigating 'dozens' of other reports. In at least two of the confirmed cases, the victims were 'abducted for the purpose of forced marriage,' while in other cases, the kidnappers demanded ransoms from the victims' families. In one particularly disturbing case prior to the coastal clashes, the report said masked men dressed in black and wearing black headbands inscribed with 'There is no god but God' abducted a woman from the street and gang-raped her, then sold her to an older man to whom she was forcibly married. 'The Commission is not aware of any individuals being arrested or prosecuted yet in connection with these abductions,' the report said. The investigation into the coastal violence comes as Syria is reeling from another outbreak of sectarian violence last month that has again threatened the country's fragile political transition after nearly 14 years of civil war. This time, clashes broke out in the southern Sweida province between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side, and fighters from the country's Druze minority on the other. Hundreds were killed and tens of thousands displaced, and allegations have surfaced of government fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burning houses. The government has again launched an investigation into the allegations, but minority communities have become increasingly wary of the Sunni Muslim-led authorities. Last week, representatives of Syria's various ethnic and religious groups held a conference in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syrian city and called for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism.
Rudaw Net
5 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Syria Alawite violence ‘systematic', may constitute ‘war crimes': UN
Also in Syria SDF says investigating suspected ISIS attack in Deir ez-Zor Syria denies attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo US envoy says Syria vowed accountability for Suwayda violence Damascus, SDF trade blame over 'ceasefire violations' A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A United Nations commission investigating deadly March violence in Syria's Alawite-majority coastal areas said the attacks, which left over 1,400 dead, were 'systematic' and likely amounted to 'war crimes.' In March, violence erupted in Syria's Alawite-majority coastal areas after armed groups, many loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad, launched attacks on forces allied with the government, prompting Damascus to respond with force. A report by the the United Nations' Human Rights Council (UNHCR) commission in Syria, which 'examines serious violations, primarily targeting Alawi communities,' said the violence included 'acts that likely amount to crimes, including war crimes' committed by factions affiliated with the former regime, 'interim government force members,' and private individuals. 'These acts included murder, torture, abductions, and inhumane acts related to the treatment of the dead, as well as pillage and property destruction, including related to medical facilities,' the report summarized. The commission said that although the killings followed 'a systematic pattern across multiple, widespread locations,' it 'found no evidence of a governmental policy or plan to carry out such attacks.' At least 1,700 people - mostly Alawite civilians - were killed in the attacks, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, with many deaths blamed on the Syrian interim government and its affiliated forces. According to the report, 'Some 1,400 people, predominantly civilians, including approximately 100 women, were reported killed, most in massacres that ensued over a large geographic area, alongside other kinds of violence, looting, burning and displacement.' The violence, much of it filmed or photographed by the perpetrators, 'has deepened rifts between communities.' Damascus formed an investigative committee to probe the violence. In late July, the committee announced that it had identified nearly 300 suspects in connection with the events. Investigations by the committee documented 'serious violations against civilians,' including 'murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture, and sectarian insults.' The UN acknowledged that 'alleged perpetrators' were 'reportedly' arrested by the interim government but stressed that 'the scale of the violence documented in this report warrants expanding such efforts,' underscoring 'the need for clear accountability for all perpetrators, regardless of affiliation or rank.' The report also cited Syria's long record of human rights violations - particularly by the Assad regime - and the public's 'desire for accountability for the violations that occurred throughout the conflict,' combined with 'insufficient clarity on the new framework for justice' and a security vacuum, as factors that led 'some to take the law into their own hands.' Syrians rose against Assad in March 2011, sparking a full-scale civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and left millions in dire humanitarian need. The report noted that the interim government has incorporated factions with 'well-documented histories of violations and abuses during the conflict.' The report added that the interim government has incorporated factions with 'well-documented histories of violations and abuses during the conflict.' In early June, US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack told Reuters that an understanding had been reached with Damascus on integrating foreign fighters loyal to the new administration. Three Syrian defense officials confirmed to the outlet that the plan includes around 3,500 foreign fighters - mainly Uyghurs from China and neighboring countries - being formed into a new military unit alongside Syrian nationals. Officials in northeast Syria (Rojava) have voiced concern over the decision, while China has also expressed fears about 'terrorism.' The March bloodshed sparked widespread condemnation, including from the United Nations, the United Kingdom, France, Iraq, and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Turkey expressed support for the new authorities in Damascus.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
UN reports war crimes in Syria sectarian violence by both sides
GENEVA: War crimes were likely committed by both interim government forces and fighters loyal to Syria's former rulers during sectarian violence in coastal areas, a UN report stated. The violence, which peaked in March, reportedly killed around 1,400 people, mostly civilians from Alawi communities. 'The scale and brutality of the violence documented in our report is deeply disturbing,' said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry. The UN team documented torture, killings, and inhumane acts related to the treatment of the dead based on over 200 victim and witness interviews. Investigators also visited mass grave sites as part of their evidence-gathering process. The coastal region violence marked Syria's worst bloodshed since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last year. In response, Syria's interim government formed a fact-finding committee to probe the incidents. No immediate public comment was issued by interim authorities or former Syrian officials, many of whom have fled the country. A Reuters investigation last month linked nearly 1,500 Alawite deaths to attackers with direct ties to Syria's new leadership. New Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned the violence as a threat to national unity and vowed accountability. The UN report acknowledged interim authorities' commitment to identifying perpetrators but urged further action given the violence's severity. - Reuters
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
U.N.: Syrian factions committed 'widespread and systematic' attacks on civilians in coastal violence
BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N.-backed commission that investigated sectarian violence on Syria's coast earlier this year found that there was 'widespread and systematic' violence against civilians perpetrated by some government-affiliated factions, but found no evidence that it was directed by the central government. An extensive report released Thursday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria examined the violence that began with clashes between armed groups aligned with former Syrian President Bashar Assad and the new government's security forces in March. It then spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks and massacres that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs. The violence came months after Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in December and at a time when the country's new rulers were attempting to forge a new national army out of a patchwork of former insurgent factions. 'Widespread and systematic' violations The commission named several government-affiliated factions whose members allegedly took part in 'extrajudicial killings and torture and ill-treatment of primarily the civilian population of Alawi majority villages and neighborhoods in a manner that was both widespread and systematic" during the coastal violence. They include the 62nd and 76th divisions of the new Syrian army, also known as the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza Division — both of them formerly part of a coalition made up of Turkish-backed armed factions in northwest Syria. The report also singled out the 400th Division, made up of former brigades of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that was formerly led by Syria's current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. However, the report said the commission "found no evidence of a governmental policy or plan to carry out such attacks." It also found that pro-Assad armed groups had committed 'acts that likely amount to crimes, including war crimes" during the violence. A separate investigation into the coastal violence ordered by the government released its findings last month. It concluded that some members of the new Syrian military had committed 'widespread, serious violations against civilians,' but said there was no evidence that military leaders had ordered those attacks. The government investigation found that more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed. In a letter in response to Thursday's U.N. report, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the government takes 'serious note of the alleged violations' detailed in it the report and said that the recommendations — which included increased screening of recruits to the security forces and recruiting from minority communities — 'will serve as a roadmap for Syria's continued progress.' How the violence unfolded The U.N. commission's report noted that in the leadup to the coastal violence in March there had been scattered clashes between pro-Assad and new government forces as well as increasing incidents of 'harassment and violations" against Alawite communities, "including killings, abductions, looting or occupation of property.' In early March, pro-Assad armed groups launched a series of attacks on the General Security forces of the new government along the coast. During the clashes that followed, pro-Assad fighters also overran hospitals, shot at and abducted journalists coming to cover the conflict, and in at least one case shot and killed women and children, the report said. With the General Security forces overwhelmed, tens of thousands of fighters from allied factions, as well as armed civilians, converged on the coast. Many began raiding houses in Alawite-majority areas, where in many cases they 'asked civilians whether they were Sunni or Alawi' and 'Alawi men and boys were then taken away to be executed,' the report found. 'Most victims were men of Alawi background, aged between 20 to 50 years, though women and children as young as one year old were also killed during house raids,' the report said. In some cases, the bodies were then desecrated, and family members were prevented from burying their dead. The report also found that there had been widespread cases of robbery and looting by armed groups. Allegations of abduction and sexual assault The commission also investigated reports of kidnapping of Alawite women and found 'credible information' of at least six cases in the weeks preceding and following the main outbreak of violence in March. It is investigating 'dozens' of other reports. In at least two of the confirmed cases, the victims were 'abducted for the purpose of forced marriage,' while in other cases, the kidnappers demanded ransoms from the victims' families. In one particularly disturbing case prior to the coastal clashes, the report said masked men dressed in black and wearing black headbands inscribed with 'There is no god but God' abducted a woman from the street and gang-raped her, then sold her to an older man to whom she was forcibly married. 'The Commission is not aware of any individuals being arrested or prosecuted yet in connection with these abductions,' the report said. Another threat to the political transition The investigation into the coastal violence comes as Syria is reeling from another outbreak of sectarian violence last month that has again threatened the country's fragile political transition after nearly 14 years of civil war. This time, clashes broke out in the southern Sweida province between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side, and fighters from the country's Druze minority on the other. Hundreds were killed and tens of thousands displaced, and allegations have surfaced of government fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burning houses. The government has again launched an investigation into the allegations, but minority communities have become increasingly wary of the Sunni Muslim-led authorities. Last week, representatives of Syria's various ethnic and religious groups held a conference in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syrian city and called for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism.
