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Violence in Syria Leaves Thousands Dead, Challenges New Rule of Law
Between March 6 and 10, insurgent activity in Syria killed nearly 1500 civilians and militants as forces associated with the new government clashed with loyalists of the deposed Bashar al-Assad regime. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 830 of the 1500 killed were civilians and it is known that members of the minority Shia Alawite sect, to which Asad belongs, were predominantly targeted in a series of revenge killings.
The Assad family fled Syria in December 2024 after a rebel alliance that included the Sunni militant group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a lightning offensive that culminated in the seizure of Damascus. In January,HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was named president of a new interim government whose political transition has been recently defined in a temporary constitution signed on March 13. HTS and its top officials remain on U.S. and international terrorist lists, but Sharaa’s government is vowing to establish a national rule that represents various religious and ethnic groups and rebuilds the country after over a decade of civil war.
Initial Reports of Violence from Syria
Violence erupted on March 6 near the port city of Latakia. Initial reports indicate that Assad loyalists and members of the Alawite community ambushed government security forces and took control of Assad’s hometown, Qardaha. Damascus responded by deploying armed men to the region and an operation meant to quell insurgency spiraled into the targeted killing of Alawites by forces loyal to the new Syrian government.
Mass and systematic executions were carried out by government forces and pro-Assad militias. Amongst those killed were civilians, government forces, and pro-al-Assad militant-affiliated personnel. .
The Latakia province where the violence was centered is predominantly Alawite. Because Alawites historically represent the majority of al-Assad’s support base, members of the new government and its loyalists associate the sect with the atrocities committed during and by the regime. According to Sharaa, once the violence took off, “It became an opportunity for revenge.”
Background and Ramifications
The Syrian Civil War began in 2011. The Arab Spring had spread anti-authoritarian sentiment from Tunisia to the Middle East and in the midst of political, economic, and environmental turmoil, large-scale pro-democracy protests ignited revolution in Syria. Assad, who governed the country as a totalitarian police state, responded with lethal force that saw the country descend into a civil war characterized by aggressive suppression. A sectarian undercurrent consistently divided protestors often seen as belonging to the Sunni majority, from the Assad loyalists who disproportionality hailed from the Alawite minority. Over the next 13 years, more than 600,000 people were killed and 12 million displaced, with many refugees fleeing to Europe.
On an international stage, the collapse of the Assad regime was hailed as a pivotal moment for Syria to reunify and restructure its government. Syrians inside and outside of the country celebrated and thenU.S. President Joe Biden called the outcome a “fundamental act of justice.” The U.N. urged a quick return to stability.
Last week’s violence directly undermines the new government’s proclaimed intentions to promote internal peace and rebuild the diplomatic ties that were severed during the regime. Although Sharaa initially described the violence as “expected challenges,” he now acknowledges that human rights violations took place and has promised to form an independent committee to investigate and hold those accountable, responsible.
The European Union, which intentionally removed some restrictions on Syria last month in support of the new government, has strongly condemned the killings, as has the US and now the United Nations Security Council.
In a challenge to geopolitical order in the region and the legitimacy of Sharaa’s government, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed to Mount Hermon, a demilitarised buffer zone, hours after the Assad regime fell. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has hailed the move as an effort to demilitarize southern Syria and protect the minority Druze community and has continued to coordinate the IDF’s strikes against infrastructure associated with the former Assad regime in the months since.
A stable and prosperous future for Syria will depend on Sharaa’’s ability to restore order. The recent violence and the involvement of outside powers in the country’s affairs is an early indicator of the fragmentation that may prevent this. .