ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - International voices have expressed concern about violence in western Syria and the possibility of wider instability after deadly clashes between Syrian security forces and armed groups Damascus says are loyalists of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “concerned about the recent clashes in the coastal areas of Syria, including reports of extrajudicial killings and civilian casualties. The secretary-general strongly condemns all violence in Syria and calls on the parties to protect civilians and cease hostilities,” his spokesperson Stephan Dujarric told reporters.
At least 162 people have been killed by forces from the new Syrian government who for two days have tried to crush an uprising in Alawite-majority areas on the western coast, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.
“The vast majority fell in field executions carried out by elements affiliated with the Ministry of Defence and Internal Security,” the Observatory said.
In one incident the Observatory documented, 60 civilians, including five children, were executed by a firing squad in the city of Baniyas.
Damascus deployed its forces to Alawite-majority areas after attacks and ambushes by armed men loyal to the toppled regime on Thursday in what has been the biggest challenge to the new government’s authority.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday accused the armed men of committing “an unforgivable crime” and demanded they “surrender your weapons and yourselves before it is too late.”
The UN’s special envoy to Syria condemned the violence.
“While the situation remains fluid and we are still determining the precise facts, there is clearly an immediate need for restraint from all parties, and full respect for the protection of civilians in accordance with international law,” said Geir O. Pedersen.
“All parties should refrain from actions that could further inflame tensions, escalate conflict, exacerbate the suffering of affected communities, destabilize Syria, and jeopardize a credible and inclusive political transition,” he added.
Iraq
The Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that it is following the unrest across the border “with deep concern” and warned of its “serious implications for security and stability in the region.”
Baghdad also called on the warring parties in Syria to protect civilians and emphasized the “importance of self-restraint from all parties.”
The ministry renewed its call for the international community to “intensify efforts aimed at ending the humanitarian suffering in Syria, and to support the paths of a political solution that ensures Syria's unity and the safety of its people.”
Iraq was a supporter of Assad’s regime. Baghdad has expressed its readiness to restore relations with the new government in Damascus, but a planned visit from Syria’s foreign minister was cancelled for unclear reasons.
Thousands of Syrian soldiers fled to Iraq when Assad’s regime fell and many of them have yet to return.
Iran
Iran was also a strong supporter of Assad, providing his regime with military support. Tehran and the new authorities in Damascus are reluctant to restore ties.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it is monitoring events unfolding in Syria with “great concern.”
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baghaei “underscored the principled stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the need to maintain security and stability in Syria and create the necessary conditions for all ethnic groups and strata of Syrian society to live peacefully together, as well as the necessity of preserving the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, especially against the acts of aggression and threats by the occupying Zionist regime,” according to a statement from the ministry.
“Tehran considers such violence to be a catalyst for the spread of instability in the region and more seditious acts by third parties, especially the Zionist regime,” he added.
After the fall of Assad, Israel carried out airstrikes on Syrian military installations. Recently, it has threatened a military incursion into southern Syria, claiming it will act in defence of the Druze community.
UN Security Council meeting on Syria
The UN Security Council held a meeting on Syria on Friday.
Britain’s Minister Counsellor Fergus Eckersley said the situation in Syria is fragile.
“The fall of Assad marks a new chapter for Syria and presents a golden opportunity to destroy his remaining chemical weapons programme, verified by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. However, the situation in Syria is fragile and we must make sure we seize this window of opportunity to remove the threat posed by these weapons once and for all,” he said.
“The UK is concerned about recent clashes in Syria, which must not be allowed to escalate into wider violence. We urge all parties to refrain from further violence and exercise restraint at this critical time,” he added.
London imposed the sanctions on Syria in 2019 to penalize “individuals and entities involved in repressing the civilian population in Syria” during the 2011 uprising against Assad’s rule, as well as those who “supported or benefited” from his regime.
The European Union made a similar step in late February, when it suspended several restrictive measures targeting key energy and transport sectors, as well as a number of Syrian banks, including the Industrial Bank, Popular Credit Bank, Saving Bank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank, as well as Syrian Arab Airlines. These entities were also included on London’s sanctions relief list.
Russia, another former supporter of Assad, has made efforts to mend ties with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group that fought the regime and Russia for years and led the offensive that ousted Assad.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, said at the Security Council meeting that recent events show “we are very far from stabilization of the situation in the country.”
“Syria is currently confronting a number of existential issues - the need to maintain its sovereignty, independence towards its integrity and unity as well as to ensure national reconciliation to create a new state structure to prepare for and hold general elections and to return to the state the monopoly of the use of force in addition to addressing threats terrorists groups,” he said.
The foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Friday condemned Assad loyalists for attacking state security forces and expressed support for the new authorities in Damascus.
