By Jaidaa Ahmad and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
Syrian leader Ahmed Sharaa scrambled on Sunday to contain some of the deadliest violence in 13 years of civil war, pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country’s new Islamist rulers.
The clashes, which a war monitoring group said had already killed 1,000 people, mostly civilians, continued for a fourth day in Assad’s coastal heartland.
The top commander of a Syrian Kurdish armed group, whose forces are in a separate battle with Turkey, blamed Turkish-backed Islamist factions for some of the most disturbing violence: the reported executions of civilians belonging to Assad’s Alawite sect. Turkey did not immediately respond to the allegation.
Interim president Sharaa’s office said it was forming an independent committee to investigate the clashes and killings by both sides. Syrians have circulated graphic videos of executions by fighters. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.
A Syrian security source said the pace of
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
