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00:00Next, Syria's security forces have killed over 1,000 civilians in the current wave of
00:05violence in the country. This comes just three months after the fall of the authoritarian
00:09regime of Bashar al-Assad. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is promising an inquiry. His
00:14forces have now declared a halt to an operation against Assad loyalists in the west of Syria,
00:20in which the Alawite community was targeted. Crowds gathered on Sunday in Damascus with
00:27placards that read, stop the killing, after the country saw its worst violence since 13
00:33years of civil war ended in December.
00:38What we are calling for today is peace and stability in Syria and also to stop any military
00:44escalation that might lead to deaths in the ranks of the security forces or the innocent
00:49civilians who are killed at the hands of undisciplined groups.
00:55After a group of Assad loyalists ambushed a Syrian security forces patrol last Thursday
00:59in Jabli Latakia, Damascus sent back up to the region and launched a crackdown on so-called
01:05remnants of the Assad regime in the Latakia and Tartus regions. Militias loyal to the
01:11government appear to have joined the crackdown, which spiralled into an indiscriminate campaign
01:15of violence, killing mostly civilians from the Alawite minority. President al-Sharaa
01:20has promised justice, even for those quote, closest to him.
01:25We affirm that we will hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who is involved
01:30in the bloodshed of civilians who overstep the powers of the state or who exploit their
01:34authority. No one will be above the law and anyone whose hands are stained with the blood
01:39of Syrians will face justice sooner rather than later.
01:44Calling the attacks on civilians and mistreatment of prisoners isolated incidents, al-Sharaa
01:49established a committee to investigate them. The defence ministry also announced on Monday
01:54they would be fully cooperating with the inquiry and that the operation against, quote, remnants
01:59of the Assad regime was over, an operation they qualified as successful. A United Nations
02:06delegation were in the region on Monday to investigate independently. These massacres
02:10come as Islamist rule in Damascus struggles to consolidate power in a country fragmented
02:15by ethnic and sectarian divides.
02:19Syria reaching a deal now to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF
02:25with state institutions. This comes from the Syrian presidency, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who we
02:30saw in that report holding that position since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Let's get
02:35more analysis and welcome to the programme Matt Broomfield from the Rojava Information
02:41Centre which provides independent information and analysis on Syria. Matt, thanks for being
02:45with us. Violence to such an extent raises clear questions about safety and security
02:51in Syria. What can you tell us?
02:53Absolutely. Well, I mean, the timing of this deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
02:59Forces and the HTS-led interim government in Damascus coming hot on the heels of that
03:05awful slaughter that we saw over the weekend in the Alawite regions on the coast really
03:10highlights on the one hand, you know, the urgent need for Syrian communities to work
03:15together and to reach a deal, to reach a modus vivendi which means there'll be no more fighting
03:19but it also underscores the grave challenges that are faced by all Syrians, perhaps particularly
03:26those minority communities, the Alawites, the Druze, the Kurds, the Christians, the
03:30Yazidis, but faced by all Syrians as they seek to put those 13 years of bloodshed behind
03:35them and move forward to peace.
03:39What is the role played by the current leadership in this situation? Has it lost control or
03:44is it actually sanctioning what is going on? Can you give us some insight on that?
03:48I mean, the current leadership has never had control of a majority really of the country's
03:53territory. They were able to dislodge the dictator Bashar al-Assad in that blitzkrieg
03:59offensive in November, but the bloodshed continued from there on. You know, at that time the
04:05fighting was particularly concentrated in the Kurdish regions in the northeast where
04:08Turkish-backed militias were taking opportunity of the chaos to launch their own deadly violence,
04:13killing hundreds of primarily Kurdish civilians. They were never able to take control of larger
04:20sections in the country's southeast due to the extension of Israeli occupation into the
04:23country and there are, of course, those pockets on the coast, you know, former Assad strongholds
04:29and even ISIS cells in the west of the country. So, you know, the administration, you know,
04:35certainly, you know, I think in many ways is, you know, is looking for a peaceful resolution or,
04:40you know, al-Sharaf himself, like, is prepared for that. But, you know, he has risen to power,
04:45you know, as the leader of a militant Islamist organization. That doesn't change, you know,
04:48overnight or with a few nice speeches. And, you know, he will be keenly aware,
04:52as the international community is keenly aware, that the pressures ahead and integrating,
04:56particularly those Islamist factions, including the Turkish-backed factions who are at the forefront
05:01of the bloodshed in the coastal regions into any new Syrian settlement.
05:05So, the Alawites then becoming basically scapegoats because of their links to Assad?
05:11Yes, that's right. I mean, you know, the situation on the coast, you know,
05:16there certainly has been the involvement there, you know, of actors close, you know,
05:21formerly close to Bashar al-Assad and potentially some degree also of Iranian involvement around,
05:25of course, being a former close ally of Assad. At the same time, you know, the scale of the
05:31bloodshed, the targeting of civilians, the awful scenes of people being paraded through the street
05:37like dogs, being shot dead, you know, it demonstrates that, you know, this is sectarian
05:41violence. And I think it underscores once again what the Kurdish-led administration in the northeast
05:45have been saying, that the only solution that's workable for Syria is a federal decentralized
05:49system with respect for all minorities and for all communities. And that's the only way forward
05:55which can bring an end to the bloodshed. But it seems very difficult to reach at this moment in
05:59time, despite the recent agreement between the Kurds and Assad.
06:02So, Matt, when Ahmed al-Sharar talks about what happened in the west there as isolated incidents,
06:10is he being disingenuous or does he generally think it is an isolated incident that's happened there?
06:16I mean, this is certainly the most extreme sort of incident, single instance of violence that we've
06:20seen since the fall of the Assad regime. But the warning signs have been there. You know, there are
06:26many forces who are outside of sort of the direct control of al-Sharar and his circle. You know,
06:33al-Sharar, you know, as has been noted many times, may himself, you know, be a pragmatist, may be
06:38indeed be willing to put behind the sort of sectarian violence which has paved his path
06:43to the throne of Syria. You know, that does seem to be the messaging from him as an individual.
06:48But ultimately, you know, we're not speaking here about an individual, we're speaking about
06:53communities, we're speaking about armed groups who have spent 13 years pitted against one another
06:59in the Syrian theatre of war. And so, you know, it would be naive to think that that can be changed
07:04just by putting on a tie and shaking hands with the United Nations. And I think it's to be hoped
07:08that this violence will kind of underscore to the world the need to continue working, yes,
07:13with al-Sharar, to continue building on the goodwill that all Syrians feel to some degree
07:18following the fall of Assad, but also to keep holding those new authorities to account in these
07:22crucial years ahead. It is a very delicate time indeed. Matt Bloomfield, thank you very much
07:27indeed for joining us there from London. Matt of Rojava Information Centre, which provides
07:32independent news and analysis on Syria. Thank you very much.
07:38Thank you very much for joining us here on France 24. We appreciate your time.