Politics Fighting in Syria: Al-Sharaa wants to punish murder of civilians
Following the flare-up of the heaviest fighting since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the nation in a speech.
08.03.2025, 00:20
SDA
In it, he called for unity among Syrians. Anyone who commits attacks against civilians will be severely punished, the former rebel leader announced. The clashes are the first major test for al-Sharaa, who was appointed interim president at the end of January.
Heavy clashes between supporters of ousted ex-president Bashar al-Assad and security forces of the new rulers broke out in the coastal region of Syria on Thursday and Friday. The region is considered a stronghold of al-Assad, who belongs to the Alawite religious minority.
More than 160 civilians are said to have been executed
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had blamed government fighters for serious massacres of Alawite civilians. According to its information, more than 160 civilians had been executed, the director of the UK-based monitoring center, Rami Abdel-Rahman, told the German Press Agency. A dpa employee was also able to speak to an eyewitness on the phone who also reported executions.
Activists from the city of Idlib, with whom dpa was able to speak, blamed the massacres on armed supporters of the transitional government from their province, who are said to have defied orders from Damascus.
Al-Sharaa praised the security forces for their efforts. He did not mention the massacres directly. However, he called on "all forces that took part in the fighting" to submit to the military commanders and "clear the positions immediately in order to control the current violations". He called on supporters of the ousted ex-president to lay down their arms.
