A Syrian military operation against remnants of the former Assad regime has now ended, having sparked some of the worst violence seen in the country in years. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of people have been killed in the crackdown and fighting between the security forces and supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad since Thursday. <\/p>\n
What began as clashes between armed groups loyal to Assad and forces loyal to the new Syrian regime quickly spiraled into communal killings, with a war monitor saying at least 779 people had been killed. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we know about the bloodshed. <\/p>\n
The violence erupted in the heartland of former ruler Assad, where the Alawite leader drew most of his support. <\/p>\n
Alawites are a minority Shiite Muslim sect living predominantly in Sunni-majority Syria. The Assad family, members of the sect, ruled Syria for over half a century until Bashar was ousted in December by Sunni Islamist militants who sought to reshape the country\u2019s political and sectarian order. <\/p>\n
Throughout Assad\u2019s rule, the Alawite sect became increasingly linked, in the eyes of his opponents, to the atrocities committed by his regime during the Syrian civil war. <\/p>\n
Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who once led the al Qaeda-linked group that toppled Assad late last year, has previously promised political equality and representation to the various sects of Syria\u2019s diverse ethnic and religious populations. <\/p>\n
The fragility of the new Syria was nonetheless laid bare by the events of recent days. On Thursday, Syria\u2019s state-run SANA news agency reported deadly clashes erupting between Syrian government forces and pro-Assad groups in the coastal Latakia province. <\/p>\n
SANA reported that \u201cremnants of Assad militia groups\u201d attacked government checkpoints and patrols, killing and wounding many. <\/p>\n
The UK-based Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said on Monday that among the 779 killed, \u201cnon-state armed groups\u201d loyal to Assad were responsible for the deaths of 383 people, including 172 members of state security forces and 211 civilians. Government forces and affiliated groups were responsible for the deaths of at least 396 people, including \u201ccivilians and disarmed militants,\u201d according to SNHR. <\/p>\n
Sharaa has blamed the violence on the remains of Assad\u2019s forces, claiming they were trying to incite sectarian strife. <\/p>\n
On Sunday, he said his government would hold accountable anyone involved in the deaths of civilians during the heavy fighting. Sharaa had previously described the violence as \u201cexpected challenges.\u201d <\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s interim government vowed to form an independent committee to \u201cinvestigate and ascertain the facts,\u201d and submit a report to the presidency within 30 days. <\/p>\n
The committee will \u201cuncover the reasons, circumstances, and conditions that led to these events,\u201d a statement by the Syrian interim presidency said, adding that it will \u201cinvestigate the violations committed against civilians and identify those responsible.\u201d <\/p>\n
It will also \u201cinvestigate attacks on public institutions, security forces and the military, and determine accountability.\u201d Those found guilty will be referred to the judiciary, it added. <\/p>\n
In an interview with Reuters Monday, Sharaa said that \u201cSyria is a state of law.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe law will take its course on all,\u201d he told Reuters from Damascus. <\/p>\n
Sharaa blamed the outbreak of violence on a former military unit loyal to Assad\u2019s brother and an unspecified foreign power, according to the agency. The president also said that, in response, \u201cmany parties entered the Syrian coast and many violations occurred,\u201d Reuters reported. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt became an opportunity for revenge,\u201d Sharaa added. <\/p>\n
The killings in Syria threaten to undermine Sharaa\u2019s efforts to end the country\u2019s isolation and rebuild diplomatic ties that could ease the heavy sanctions imposed since Assad\u2019s rule. <\/p>\n
The former jihadist-turned-president has repeatedly told Western media that he envisions an inclusive Syria and has vowed to prevent revenge killings and sectarian violence. <\/p>\n
Several countries have condemned the violence in the strongest terms. <\/p>\n
The United States on Sunday denounced what it said were \u201cradical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days.\u201d <\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US stands with religious and ethnic minorities in Syria, and that \u201cinterim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres\u201d accountable. <\/p>\n
The European Union, which last month removed some restrictions on Syria in order to \u201csupport an inclusive political transition,\u201d also condemned the recent violence, saying \u201ccivilians have to be protected in all circumstances in full respect of international humanitarian law.\u201d <\/p>\n
The bloc also called \u201con all external actors to fully respect the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria.\u201d <\/p>\n
Following Syria\u2019s civil war over a decade ago, regional actors and world powers \u2013 including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the US, Russia and Turkey \u2013 vied for influence, escalating the conflict into what some observers described as a \u201cproxy war.\u201d ISIS was also able to gain a foothold in the country before suffering significant blows. <\/p>\n
Syria has been home to a number of foreign fighters over the years. It is unclear how many remain. <\/p>\n
Several videos appeared on social media showing convoys of armed men in vehicles in the run-up to the violence, with some speaking in foreign Arabic dialects. <\/p>\n
As the latest violence erupted, several foreign powers also traded blame. <\/p>\n
Turkey, which made significant gains in Syria after Assad was toppled, had previously warned Iran against attempts to destabilize Syria in comments that later triggered Tehran to summon Turkey\u2019s ambassador, Reuters reported, citing state TV. <\/p>\n
Speaking at a news conference Sunday in Amman, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said there has been an \u201ceffort to derail the Syrian government\u2019s weeks-long policy of not reacting to provocations,\u201d according to the state news agency Anadolu. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are, of course, committed to fully supporting the newly formed government in Syria and backing all of its efforts to stabilize the country,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The effects of the recent bloodshed are unlikely to disappear, experts said, especially as triggers of this violence are deeply rooted in Syria\u2019s past. <\/p>\n
Unless core issues are addressed by the government \u2013 including inclusivity, political participation and unequal living conditions throughout the country \u2013 Syria may not recover from its ongoing sectarian strife, according to analysts. <\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s future in relation to Western countries may also rest on the new government\u2019s ability to address recent events and guarantee accountability, other experts said. <\/p>\n
In his interview with Reuters, Sharaa recognized the violence of the past days \u201cwill impact\u201d his attempt to bring Syria together, but vowed to \u201crectify the situation as much as we can.\u201d <\/p>\n
Haid Haid, a Syrian columnist and a consulting fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said that many of Syria\u2019s next steps will depend on whether Sharaa holds all those involved in the violence accountable. <\/p>\n
\u201cDealing with the root causes of the problem, at least some of them, will be crucial,\u201d Haid said, including making sure that the Alawite community does not feel marginalized. <\/p>\n
How Western countries perceive Syria\u2019s transitional period after the violence is yet to be seen. Lister said that while recent events may exacerbate US skepticism on Syria\u2019s new government, European countries are keen to see the interim government stabilize the country. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the Europeans, we\u2019re hearing a very different language, obviously criticism and concern about civilian killings, but also doubling down on the idea that the interim government needs to stabilize,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Regional players have also shown support for the lifting of sanctions despite the violence. On Sunday, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon held a meeting with Syrian officials in Amman, where they called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria \u201cto enhance its capabilities for rebuilding Syria and meeting the needs of the Syrian people,\u201d according to a joint statement. <\/p>\n
Haid added that to move forward, Syria must not isolate \u201cthe security incidents from the wider fragile and worsening context.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAddressing what\u2019s happening through security measures alone will not be enough, even if they are able to stop those attacks in the near future,\u201d he said. \u201cThe root causes will remain there.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A Syrian military operation against remnants of the former Assad regime has now ended, having sparked some of the worst violence seen in the country in years. Hundreds of people have been killed in the crackdown and fighting between the security forces and supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad since Thursday. What began as clashes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}