Sparked by a surprise attack on government troops late last week, western Syria
experienced a significant spate of violence over the weekend, leading to more than 1,000 deaths. The fighting is ongoing, with civilians — many of whom were Christians — reportedly representing the bulk of fatalities.
According to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, about 750 civilians have been killed, compared to 125 members of government security forces and 150 opposition militants. The attack on government forces occurred in an Alawite-majority area loyal to recently deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.
Government forces have reportedly focused on retributions against civilians, killing whole families at a time according to a U.N. statement. “The killing of civilians in coastal areas in north-west Syria must cease,” U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
Authorities in Damascus have denied direct responsibility, blaming unofficial militants fighting alongside government forces. While the veracity of this claim is uncertain, its basis is somewhat tenuous given that the government, as it is, is itself a militant group that came to power just three months ago with the support of a broad coalition of other militant groups.
Last week’s attack, and the weekend violence that followed, is the largest since Assad was deposed in December and presents a challenge for the new government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Assad’s ruthless reign was marked by deep animosity between ethnic and religious groups in the country, spurred on by Assad himself as a means of extending his power. As al-Sharaa works to set up a new government in Assad’s place, he faces the challenge of uniting these disparate groups.
While the fighting has, so far, stayed within Alawite-majority areas, some fear the potential for a larger breakdown if other groups get sucked into the conflict or the fighting delays efforts to draft a new constitution and eventually host elections.
Hundreds of delegates from around the country gathered in Damascus last month to take part in the first national-level political dialogue after the December ouster of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. The gathering, designed to lay the groundwork for the country as it sets out to establish a new government, concluded with calls for an inclusive, rights-based order.
“We must use every moment to serve the interests of our people and our nation and honor the sacrifices of its children,” al-Sharaa, the newly appointed interim president, told attendees. He met with members of historically marginalized religious and ethnic groups during previous months and repeatedly promised to include them in his government moving forward.
Still, some critics point to a lackluster start to the new administration, which is predominantly made up of al-Sharaa’s loyalists. Of the seven-member preparatory committee that met preceding this week’s dialogue, five are seen as close loyalists. One member of the committee was, however, a Christian.
The gathering was announced with only two days’ notice, giving communities from around the country limited time to respond.
Members of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group, were sidelined and not invited at all. Kurdish politicians criticized the slight, saying that the gathering would be “meaningless, worthless and ineffective and will not contribute to finding real solutions to the crisis that the country is suffering from.”
This week’s dialogue concluded with a series of nonbinding recommendations for al-Sharaa’s administration, including the expedition of a new constitution and the quick formation of an interim legislative council while the country prepares for elections — a process that al-Sharaa has warned is likely to take at least four years, given the country’s current state of disarray.
Al-Sharaa is the longtime leader of a terrorist organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, that has at various times been affiliated with Islamic State and al-Qaida. Though it has operated independently in recent years, its avowedly jihadist background has given pause to observers even as the group claims to have narrow, nationalist goals rather than broader ones of religious conquest.
As al-Sharaa works to create legitimacy for his new government, his response to violent resistance and his ability to include all groups as part of the new order will be critical. — International Christian Concern
