U Syria has seen the greatest escalation of violence since Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of December last year, he fled to Russia, and Sunni Islamists took over power in that country. Clashes began on Thursday, and as reported by Reuters, continued overnight from Saturday to Sunday in several cities and on the roads to the coast where the Alawite religious minority lives.
Under the rule of Assad, who is himself an Alawite, members of that minority occupied leading positions in the army and security services. The new rulers in Syria claim to have responded to attacks by Assad's remaining troops in recent weeks, and blame "individual actions" for this escalation of violence, writes Deutsche Welle (DW).
More than 1.000 dead
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that clashes in Syria's coastal region have claimed more than 1.000 lives. Most of the victims are civilians, members of the country's Alawite religious minority.
According to the Observatory, the dead included 745 civilians, most of them killed at close range, followed by 125 members of the government's security forces and 148 militants associated with Assad. The killings took place in more than 29 locations in the coastal areas of Latakia, Tartus and Hama.
"This is one of the biggest massacres in the Syrian conflict," Observatory head Rami Abdurahman said of the killings of Alawite civilians.
The violence erupted on Thursday when government forces tried to arrest a wanted man near the coastal town of Jabla but were ambushed by Assad loyalists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. This UK-based organization presents itself as an independent organization. However, the information it publishes cannot be independently verified.
Residents of Alawite settlements report atrocities
Residents of Alawite villages and towns told AP that gunmen killed Alawites, mostly men, in the streets or on the doorsteps of their homes. Thousands of people fled to the nearby mountains.
The bodies of 31 people killed on Friday in the central village of Tuveim were buried in a mass grave on Saturday morning, locals said. Nine children and four women were among those killed. AP was sent photos of bodies covered in white sheets as they were placed in the tomb.
Residents of Banias, one of the towns hardest hit by the violence, said the attackers included foreign fighters as well as armed men from neighboring villages and towns.
Ali Sheha, a 57-year-old resident of Banias, said that armed attackers were gathering less than 100 meters from his building, randomly shooting at houses and residents. He said that in one neighborhood where Alawites lived, at least 20 of his neighbors and colleagues were killed - some in their shops and some in their homes.
In at least one case he knows of, they asked people for ID to verify their religion and sect before killing them. He also said the attackers set fire to houses, stole cars and ransacked homes. Šeha fled with his family and neighbors just a few hours after the outbreak of violence.
Alawites flee to Lebanon and to the Russian base
Lebanese MP Haidar Nasser, one of the two Alawite representatives in parliament, said that people are fleeing from Syria to Lebanon for protection, but that he does not have accurate data on the number of refugees.
Nasser also stated that many are taking refuge in the Russian Hmeimim Air Base in Syria and called on the international community to protect Alawites who are Syrian citizens loyal to their country. He added that since Assad's fall, many Alawites have lost their jobs, and some former soldiers who reconciled with the new government have been killed.
Interim President of Syria: These are "expected challenges"
Syria's interim president, Ahmed Shara, called for peace on Sunday: "We must preserve national unity and internal peace, we can live together." Be calm about Syria, this country has characteristics that allow it to survive."
He speaking in a mosque in Damascus also said. "What is happening in Syria right now is part of the expected challenges."
Shara was the leader of the Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the overthrow of the former government under Assad. Upon assuming office, Al Shara promised to include all social groups in the process of political renewal and to respect human rights. With this, he hopes to lift Western sanctions against Syria.
Syrian security sources said at least two hundred members of their forces were killed in clashes with former military personnel loyal to Assad, after coordinated attacks and ambushes that began on Thursday. The attacks soon turned into revenge killings as thousands of armed supporters of the new Syrian government from all over the country flocked to coastal areas to support government forces.
According to other reports, armed Sunnis, supporters of the transitional government, who allegedly refused to obey orders from Damascus, were responsible for the violence. Syrian state television, on the other hand, reports that unknown persons donned the uniforms of government forces and committed crimes with the aim of provoking a civil war.
France condemns violence, meeting of neighboring countries
France expressed "deep concern" over the violence in Syria. Paris "condemns in the strongest terms crimes committed against civilians on religious grounds, as well as against prisoners," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. France called on the interim Syrian authorities to ensure independent investigations to "fully shed light on these crimes".
According to Turkish sources, the foreign and defense ministers, as well as the intelligence chiefs of Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Iraq, will meet in Amman on Sunday to discuss security threats, the fight against terrorism and organized crime. One of the key topics is expected to be the extremists of the "Islamic State", thousands of whose fighters are in prisons in northeastern Syria.
