This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The United Nations and the United States have called on Syrian authorities to take immediate action after it was reported that Syrian government forces have killed hundreds of civilians belonging to the Alawite minority group in recent days.
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on March 8 that it had identified 745 civilians belonging to the Alawite minority who were killed in two days of clashes between security forces and fighters loyal to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad in Latakia Province. The numbers have not yet been independently verified.
“The killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease, immediately,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement on March 9.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Syria’s interim authorities to hold accountable the “radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis” who have committed “massacres against Syria’s minority communities” in recent days.
“The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities,” Rubio said in a statement on March 9.
Reuters quoted diplomats as saying the United States and Russia have asked the Security Council to meet behind closed doors on March 10 over the escalating violence. Russian state media quoted Moscow’s UN mission as saying the meeting would begin at 10 a.m.
According to SOHR, the total death toll from the violence rose to more than 1,000, including at least 125 security personnel and 148 Assad loyalists.
The monitoring group, which has a network of sources across Syria, said most of the civilian victims were shot at close range by “security forces and allied groups.”
The clashes that erupted on March 6 mark the country’s worst outbreak of violence since the regime of Assad, an ally of Iran and Russia, was overthrown in December.
Reuters and Al-Jazeera reported that dozens of people, mostly women, children, and elders, have sought refuge at the Russian Khmeimim military base in the Latakia countryside. There has been no immediate comment from the Russian authorities.
The monitoring group also reported that electricity and drinking water were cut off in large areas around the city of Latakia, the heartland of the Alawite minority to which Assad belonged.
Sharaa’s Struggle To Maintain Control
Ahmed Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, called for peace on March 9, saying the nation has to “preserve national unity and domestic peace.”
“We will be able to live together in this country,” Sharaa said speaking at a mosque in Damascus.
Sharaa had earlier blamed what he called “remnants” of Assad’s government for the violence, but he did not address allegations that his forces had killed civilians.
Reuters cited a Syrian source as saying on March 9 that clashes continued overnight in several towns where armed groups fired on security forces and ambushed cars on highways leading to main towns in the coastal area.
A curfew has been enforced in Homs, Latakia, and Tartus due to ongoing fighting.
Analysts say the fighting exposes Sharaa’s struggle to maintain control in a post-Assad Syria — to the delight of Iran, Israel, and even Islamic State (IS) extremists.
Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at the New York-based Soufan Group intelligence consultancy, said what is transpiring in Latakia is “simply an inevitable outcome” in any post conflict setting.
Did Iran Start The Unrest?
The fighting started about a week after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country is a major backer of Sharaa’s rule, warned Iran against moving to challenge the new Syrian government by empowering groups opposed to it.
He warned that it “would not be the right” approach and said doing so may result in “another country doing the same thing to you in return.”
Sharaa, who saw Ankara-backed groups join the offensive launched by his US-designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against Assad, has received scores of foreign delegations since seizing power in Damascus but has frozen Iran out in favor of its rivals Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as Western nations.
Phillip Smyth, an expert on Iranian proxies and Shi’ite militias, said there is “a lot of evidence” pointing to Tehran’s involvement in the new outbreak of violence.
Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said after Assad’s fall that Syrians would revolt against Sharaa’s rule.
Smyth said Tehran “is happy this was set off,” especially since it establishes that Iran “can cause massive disruption” despite losing a key ally in Assad.
“Better for Tehran is the fact that HTS militants demonstrated they would engage in human rights abuses. Iran desired an overreaction,” he added.
Some observers have also suggested Tehran could look to back the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to challenge not only Sharaa, but also Turkey’s growing influence.
The SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told Reuters on March 9 that factions “supported by Turkey and Islamic extremists” were chiefly responsible for the latest violence in Latakia.
Syria, under Assad’s rule, played a pivotal role in Iran’s strategic land corridor to the Levant. This corridor was crucial for Iran’s regional influence, serving as the logistical backbone for its network of state and nonstate actors.
Who Else Stands to Gain From The Unrest?
Since rebels seized power, the new government has faced numerous security challenges.
Elements loyal to Assad, who belongs to the Alawite community, have sporadically attacked the new government’s security forces, while IS remains active in various pockets throughout the country.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have expanded territorial control in southern Syria, with reports saying they are positioned about 20 kilometers from the capital. Israel has been targeting military assets and demanding the demilitarization of southern Syria.
“IS is extremely opportunistic and will be biding its time and waiting to strike. Israel will also take advantage of the situation by launching more strikes in the south of Syria,” Clarke said.
“Sharaa is indeed struggling with control, but much of this is to be expected,” he added.
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