Syria's new interim government has announced the end of a several-day military operation against fighters loyal to ousted President Bashar Assad, marking the worst fighting since December, when the years-long civil war ended.
The announcement comes despite the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reporting that militants affiliated with the Ministry of Defence are conducting violent clashes in the coastal area of Baniya.
The initial wave of violence followed a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Latakia on Thursday, which set off widespread fighting across Syria's coastal region between government-linked groups and Assad loyalists that monitoring groups say has killed hundreds of civilians.
It is challenging for the new Syrian government in Damascus to assert authority across the country and reach political agreements with other communities, such as the northeastern Kurds and southern Druze. "To the remnants of the defeated regime and its fleeing officers, we say loud and clear." said Ministry of Defence spokesman Colonel Hassan Abdel-Ghani.
"If you come back, we will come back, and you will find before you men who know not how to retreat and who will have no mercy on those whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent," He added.
Abdel-Ghani said security forces would continue to search for sleeper cells and remaining former government loyalists who might be involved in the uprising.
Although the government's military operation launched to crack down on Assad loyalists has been mostly suppressed, images have emerged showing apparent retaliatory attacks by Syrian security forces against the Alawite minority living mostly in western Syria.
According to the UK-based war monitor SOHR, 1,130 people have been killed in the clashes, including 830 civilians. However, these figures have not been independently verified.
Interim President Ahmad Shara described attacks on Alawite civilians and mistreatment of prisoners as isolated incidents and promised to hold those responsible to account. He also announced the formation of a committee to investigate the events.
A new government led by the Shara-led Hayat Tahrir-e-Sham (HTS) group toppled Assad in December, ending more than half a century of dictatorial rule by his family.
The European Commission said it was concerned by the reports from Syria and condemned the killings.
"We are all concerned about the situation and developments in Syria, which began with attacks that allegedly led to the killing of innocent civilians. These reports are horrific," said a Commission spokesman.
"We have seen that the interim authorities have reacted quickly and we demand that the perpetrators be brought to justice."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement on Sunday called on the Syrian authorities to "hold the perpetrators of these massacres" accountable.
"(USA) stands on the side of Syria's religious and ethnic minorities, including the Christian, Druze, Alawite and Kurdish communities," Rubio added.
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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