Sharaa promises to hold Alawite killers responsible

Muhammad Amin

Syria’s self-appointed president Ahmed Al.Sharaa has pledged to hold accountable gunmen responsible for the mass killings of Alawite Muslims, warning such violence threatens his efforts to unite the war-torn country.

He promised justice, even if it means prosecuting his own allies, Sharaa claimed in an interview with Reluters Monday night.

“Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all,” al-Sharaa told Reuters from his Damascus presidential palace. “We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won’t accept that any blood be shed unjustly or go without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us.”

He said 200 members of the security forces had been killed in the clashes. However, he refrained from disclosing the total death toll, claiming that an independent committee would investigate and do so.

Observers put the death toll at over 1 000, including 125 security personnel and fighters loyal to former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s army.

Sharaa emphasised the law would take its course, adding:

We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won’t accept any blood being shed unjustly, nor will we allow any incident to go unpunished, even among those closest to us.”

Sharaa blamed a former military unit loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s brother, Maher, and an unspecified foreign power for the recent outbreaks of violence.

While Sharaa did not specify the foreign actor involved in the pro-Assad attacks, he hinted at a party that had “lost out from the new reality in Syria”, which many interpreted as a reference to long-standing ally Iran. Tehran has denied any involvement in the unrest.

He did, however, acknowledge that multiple groups had entered Syria’s coastal areas amid the clashes with Assad loyalists, leading to violations.

He said the unrest became “an opportunity for revenge” stemming from years of pent-up grievances, although he claimed the situation had now largely been brought under control.

Al-Sharaa admitted that the recent bloodshed posed a serious challenge to his goal of national unity. “It will impact this path,” he said, but he vowed to “rectify the situation as much as we can.”

To address the crisis, al-Sharaa has established an independent investigative committee to probe the killings within 30 days and ensure justice. A second committee has been formed to promote civil peace and reconciliation. “Blood begets more blood,” al-Sharaa warned, emphasizing the need to prevent further sectarian strife.