Syria's interim president urges communal peace as deadly clashes continue

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 7:07 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Syrian person Ahmed al-Sharaa called for bid connected Sunday aft hundreds were killed successful coastal areas successful the worst communal unit since the autumn of Bashar al Assad.

"We person to sphere nationalist unity and home peace, we tin unrecorded together," al-Sharaa, the interim president, said arsenic clashes continued betwixt forces linked to the caller Islamist rulers and fighters from Assad's Alawite sect.

"Rest assured astir Syria, this state has the characteristics for survival," al-Sharaa said successful a circulated video, speaking astatine a mosque successful his puerility neighbourhood of Mazzah successful Damascus. "What is presently happening successful Syria is wrong the expected challenges."

Syrian information sources said astatine slightest 2 100 of their members were killed successful the clashes with erstwhile service unit owing allegiance to Assad aft coordinated attacks and ambushes connected their forces that were waged connected Thursday.

The attacks spiralled into revenge killings erstwhile thousands of equipped supporters of Syria's caller leaders from crossed the state descended to the coastal areas to enactment beleaguered forces of the caller administration

The authorities blamed summary executions of dozens of youths and deadly raids connected homes successful villages and towns inhabited by Syria's erstwhile ruling number connected unruly equipped militias who came to assistance the information forces and person agelong blamed Assad's supporters for past crimes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based warfare monitor, said connected Saturday the 2 days of warring successful the Mediterranean coastal portion amounted to immoderate of the worst unit for years successful a 13-year-old civilian conflict.

Clashes continued overnight successful respective towns wherever equipped groups fired connected information forces and ambushed cars connected highways starring to main towns successful the coastal area, a Syrian information root told Reuters connected Sunday.