Syria's Al-Sharaa vows justice amid sectarian violence

Shafaq News/ Syria’s transitional President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said the mass killings of Alawites in recent days posed a major challenge to his mission of uniting the country, vowing to hold all perpetrators accountable, including his own allies if necessary.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Al-Sharaa blamed pro-Assad groups backed by foreign powers for triggering the violence but acknowledged that revenge attacks had followed. “Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all,” he told Reuters from the Damascus presidential palace, where his forces ousted Bashar al-Assad on December 8, forcing him to flee to Moscow.

“We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won’t accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or goes without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us,” Al-Sharaa said.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in two days of clashes in Syria’s coastal region between gunmen linked to the country's new Islamist rulers and fighters from Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, including 973 Alawite civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Al-Sharaa said 200 security personnel had been killed but declined to confirm the overall death toll, pending an investigation by an independent committee he announced on Sunday.

He blamed the outbreak of violence on the 4th Division, a former military unit loyal to Assad’s brother Maher, and an unspecified foreign power. “It became an opportunity for revenge,” he admitted, referring to long-standing sectarian grievances. He has established two committees—one to investigate the killings within 30 days and another to promote civil peace and reconciliation.

Despite videos on social media showing executions of Alawites by Islamist fighters, some of which Reuters has verified, Al-Sharaa declined to confirm whether jihadist factions or his own security forces were involved. “These are matters for the investigation,” he said.

The killings have deeply shaken Syria’s coastal cities, forcing thousands of Alawites to flee to Lebanon or mountainous villages. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkiye have backed Sharaa amid the crisis, while Russia expressed concern and Iran urged against oppression. Washington blamed “radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis.”