Ahmed al-Sharaa blames Assad regime for massacre

On Monday, Syrian Interim President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, blamed the civilian massacres on the remnants of the Assad regime, backed by external parties.

This comes amid intense clashes between forces aligned with Syria’s new rulers and fighters loyal to the ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Al-Sharaa has called for national unity and for an end to the violence in the country.

The clashes are reported to have resulted in over 1,000 deaths in just two days, including 745 civilians.

The conflict is particularly intense in the coastal region, a strategic area and former stronghold of Assad’s supporters.

Al-Sharaa has appealed to armed groups affiliated with the former government to lay down their weapons.

He also warned fighters aligned with the new administration to avoid mistreating civilians and prisoners ¹.

It’s worth noting that al-Sharaa has also been in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This comes as Russia seeks to maintain its influence in Syria despite the change in leadership.

However, many Syrians remain conscious of Russian involvement due to Moscow’s support for the Assad regime during the civil war.

The Syrian opposition has long accused Bashar al-Assad and his forces of committing atrocities, including civilian massacres, during the Syrian civil war.

The reported fighting in the capital, Damascus, and the second city of Aleppo marked the first such clashes there since the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The wave of violence that has killed hundreds of civilians across Syria reached the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo on Monday.

Media reports say it was hours after interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

The short-lived violence in the capital followed days of clashes concentrated in former Assad strongholds along Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

More than 1,300 people were killed in Syria in the three days to late Sunday,

In a statement, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that this figure includdes civilians numbering 973 of the dead,

The death toll as of early Monday was not immediately clear.

In a speech late Sunday, Sharaa called for peace and vowed to hold accountable, those responsible for the massacres.

“We must acknowledge the truth that the fallen regime left deep wounds during its rule,” he added.

Sharaa said,  “Syria, with all its components, will remain united by the determination of its people.”

He added that he had formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the events in the coastal region.

This he said, is aimed at bringing the perpetrators to justice, and to reveal the truths to the Syrian people, so that everyone knows who is responsible.

According to SOHR, as of late Sunday, most of the fighting was concentrated in the coastal areas of Latakia, where at least 545 civilians were reported to have been killed, and Tartus, where at least 252 civilians were killed.

Both areas are home to Syria’s Alawite community, the small Islamic sect to which the Assad family belongs.

They have been a focus of security concerns amid Sharaa’s rise to power.

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