The interim leader of Syria said that they were anticipating some challenges as the death toll from several days of intense fighting between pro-government forces and supporters of the ousted former President Bashar al-Assad reportedly climbed to 1,000.
People who saw it all have claimed that government backers are behind some pretty brutal execution-style killings, and there’s video out there showing mass graves.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), based in the UK, reported that “non-state armed groups” loyal to Assad were behind the deaths of 315 people, including 167 state security forces and 148 civilians.
According to the independent monitoring group, government forces and their affiliates were behind the deaths of at least 327 people, which includes “both civilians and disarmed militants.”
Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, urged everyone to come together on Sunday as concerns about the violence ramped up globally.
“We anticipate the challenges that the country faces.” Sharaa stated at a mosque in Damascus, “We must preserve national unity and civil peace in the country.”
The U.S. condemned on Sunday the killings in western Syria over the past few days by individuals it described as radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis.
The ongoing conflicts are the most severe outbreak of violence since the Sunni Islamist militants, who attempted to alter the political and sectarian structure of the country following the removal of Assad.
Assad’s support among Syrian Alawites was particularly strong in the Mediterranean coast cities of Tartous and Latakia. In the Assad regime, Alawites, who constitute approximately 10% of the population, were prominent. Although numerous Alawites have surrendered their weapons since December, others have not.
The recent rise in violence underscores the challenges Syria’s new regime faces in appeasing disenfranchised groups, especially those that remain heavily armed.
After the fiercest fighting, the Syrian defense ministry announced on Monday that a military operation against Bashar al-Assad loyalists has been complete.
