ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday ordered the establishment of an "independent national committee" to "investigate and look into” the deadly clashes which have recently erupted in western Syria.
The committee - comprising five judges, a lawyer, and a brigadier general - is tasked with "identifying the causes, circumstances, and details that led to the occurrence” of the bloody events and submitting “its report to the presidency within a maximum of 30 days” from its establishment. It is also tasked with "investigating violations against civilians” and “attacks on public institutions, security personnel, and the military.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday reported that some 1,018 people - mainly civilians - have been killed in the predominantly Alawite western Syria over the past four days. The casualties resulted from bloody clashes between loyalists of toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and security forces affiliated with the new leadership in Damascus.
The UK-based Observatory stated that the casualties included “745 civilians killed in cold blood in sectarian massacres,” 125 government-affiliated forces, and 148 Assad regime loyalists.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday slammed "radical Islamist terrorists" for committing "massacres" against minorities in Syria and called on the new leadership in Damascus to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Meanwhile, the European Union “strongly condemned the recent attacks, reportedly by pro-Assad elements, on interim government forces in the coastal areas of Syria and all violence against civilians,” the EU’s diplomatic service said in a statement. It stressed that “civilians must be protected in all circumstances, in full respect of international humanitarian law.”
The violence has sparked widespread condemnation from many corners, including the United Nations, the UK, France, Iraq, and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Turkey expressed support for the Syrian authorities.
The new authorities in Damascus, headed by Sharaa, the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group that spearheaded the offensive that forced Assad out of the country in December, have come under repeated criticism for their treatment of minority groups.
After taking power, Sharaa said he would respect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. In a televised speech on Friday, he called on the armed groups to surrender, stressing they had committed a “great and unforgivable sin.”
