ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - German and European Union envoys to Syria on Friday called on state forces and armed groups to reach a “peaceful solution” and exit “cycles of violence and hatred” after deadly clashes in the west of the country.
State security forces were deployed to Alawite-majority areas along Syria’s western coast after attacks and ambushes by armed men loyal to the toppled regime on Thursday. The numbers of people reported killed has been rapidly rising and now stands at 154, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said Syrian forces committed “three massacres” on the outskirts of Latakia, executing 80 people.
“I am deeply shocked by the numerous victims in the western regions of Syria,” Stefan Schneck, Germany’s special envoy to Syria, said on X.
“We must break free from the cycle of violence and hatred. Germany is ready to help wherever we can,” he added, and called on both sides to seek “peaceful solutions, national unity, comprehensive political dialogue, and transitional justice.”
Michael Ohnmacht, the EU’s envoy to Syria, retweeted Schneck’s post, adding "I share the opinion of my German counterpart regarding the call for all parties to exercise restraint.”
He also noted that the right of all Syrians “to live in safety and peace and participate in the peaceful transition” must be respected.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), which is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), called on Damascus to “prioritize reason” in their response to the unrest and warned that targeting civilians and police forces constitutes “a blatant violation of civil peace” that “must be stopped immediately.”
“We categorically reject military confrontations and call for addressing the root causes of tension through serious and responsible dialogue, away from militarization and sectarian incitement,” the SDC said.
Earlier on Friday, the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) blamed the violence on Damascus, saying it failed to “take into account the sensitivity of the situation in Syria, especially the diversity in components and spectrums.”
The new authorities in Damascus, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group that spearheaded the offensive that drove Bashar al-Assad out of the country in December, have come under repeated criticism for their treatment of minority groups.
Kurdish ruling and opposition parties in Rojava have accused Damascus of marginalizing Kurds after they were not invited to a national conference about the future of the country or to sit on the committee tasked with drafting a constitutional declaration.
Weeks after taking power, Sharaa said he would respect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups.
Clashes have also broken out in the south of the country and Israel has threatened a military incursion to defend Druze communities.
