Syrian leader issues plea for national unity, peace
DAMASCUS
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Sunday that recent security incidents in the country’s coastal region are “under control,” terming them as “expected challenges.”
"The crisis has passed safely," Sharaa said at a mosque in Damascus as shown by a video shared on social media.
"We must preserve national unity [and] civil peace as much as possible and, God willing, we will be able to live together in this country,” he expressed.
“I call on all forces that have joined the battle sites to fully obey the military and security leaders there and to immediately evacuate the sites to control the breaches that have occurred, so that the military and security forces can complete their work in the best possible way,” the interim president stated.
Syria has moved “forward and will not take a single step backwards,” he added.
The clashes, which erupted on March 6, marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government in Damascus, three months after insurgents took authority after removing Bashar al-Assad from power.
The coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus have seen heightened security tensions amid coordinated attacks by loyalists of the former regime. These attacks – described as the most severe since the regime’s fall – targeted security patrols, checkpoints and hospitals, resulting in deaths and injuries.
In response, security and military forces launched sweeping operations to track down the attackers.
The death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of Assad has risen to more than 1,000, according to a war monitoring group.
The government has said that they were responding to attacks from remnants of Assad’s forces and blamed “individual actions” for the rampant violence.
Education Minister Nazir al-Qadri announced that schools would remain shut on March 9 and 10 in both Latakia and Tartus provinces due to the "unstable security conditions.”
SANA reported a power outage throughout Latakia province due to attacks on the grid by Assad loyalists.
A defense ministry source told SANA that troops had blocked roads leading to the coast to prevent "violations,” without specifying who was committing them.
Latakia province security director Mustafa Kneifati told the news agency: "We will not allow for sedition or the targeting of any component of the Syrian people."
Amid the report violence targeting Alawites and revenge killings, the Syrian Defense Ministry established an emergency committee to investigate potential violations that occurred during recent military operations and to prosecute those responsible.
The committee will carefully examine if command instructions were followed during the operations and those found to have violated the rules will be referred to a military court, the official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported.
Some media outlets claimed that the new administration’s security forces killed hundreds of Alawites during the operations.
"As a ministry, we place great importance on ensuring that all our military operations are conducted in accordance with international law and human rights. This committee will play a crucial role in detecting and investigating potential violations," said a source from the ministry.
The committee will also examine issues such as the protection of civilians during operations, the prevention of unnecessary use of force and adherence to military ethical standards.
