The Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES) said it was concerned and saddened by the clashes and blamed the violence on Damascus, saying it failed to “take into account the sensitivity of the situation in Syria, especially the diversity in components and spectrums.”
Attacks and ambushes by armed men loyal to the toppled regime on Thursday led to the deaths of at least 70 people and dozens of others were wounded in Alawite-majority areas on Syria’s western coast, a stronghold of the Assad family, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The DAANES warned that such deadly escalations could drag “our homeland to the brink of the abyss and may cause massacres against our Syrian people.”
Local authorities imposed overnight curfews in areas affected by the unrest and Damascus deployed reinforcements to curb the advance of armed groups who reportedly had taken control of some territory.
No official figures have been released regarding the death toll.
The new authorities in Damascus, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group that spearheaded the offensive that drove Assad out of the country in December, have come under repeated criticism for their treatment of minority groups.
Kurdish ruling and opposition parties in Rojava have accused Damascus of marginalizing Kurds after they were not invited to a National Dialogue Conference or to sit on the committee tasked with drafting a constitutional declaration.
The conference, held in Damascus last month, was intended to be a step toward free and fair elections, the formation of an inclusive government, and the drafting of a new constitution. However, the event sparked a wave of criticism after 35 political parties in Rojava issued a joint statement questioning its ability to “pave the way for a genuine solution to the country’s crisis.”
Weeks after taking power, Sharaa said he would respect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds.
Clashes have also broken out in the south of the country and Israel has threatened a military incursion to defend Druze communities.
