Syria announces end to 'military operation' after mass killings

Syria announces end to 'military operation' after mass killings

Syrians rally in Damascus to protest mass killling in coastal provinces, in the deadliest violence since Assad's overthrow

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after a war monitor reported more than 1,000 civilians killed in the worst violence since his overthrow.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the overwhelming majority of the 1,068 civilians killed since Thursday were members of the Alawite minority who were executed by the security forces or allied groups.

The violence in the coastal heartland of the Alawite community, to which the ousted president belongs, has threatened to throw into chaos the country's fragile transition after decades of the Assad clan's iron-fisted rule.

The authorities on Monday ended their sweeping "military operation" against security threats and "regime remnants" in Latakia and Tartus provinces on the Mediterranean coast, defence ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement.

The announcement came after interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group led the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, said the country would not be pulled back into civil strife.

"Syria... will not allow any foreign powers or domestic parties to drag it into chaos or civil war," Sharaa said in a speech.

He also vowed to "hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who was involved in the bloodshed of civilians... or who overstepped the powers of the state".

Clashes broke out in the area on Thursday after gunmen loyal to the deposed president attacked Syria's new security forces.

The fighting has killed 231 security personnel and 250 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. The authorities did not provide any casualty figures.

In Jableh in Latakia province, a resident who requested anonymity over safety concerns spoke to AFP in tears about being terrorised by armed groups who had taken control of the town.

"More than 50 people from among my family and friends have been killed. They gathered bodies with bulldozers and buried them in mass graves."

- 'Extreme fear' -

In some areas, residents had begun tentatively venturing out but many were still afraid to leave home after dark and complained of a lack of basic supplies.

"Today the situation in Latakia is a little calmer, people are out and about after five days of anxiety and extreme fear," said Farah, a 22-year-old university student who gave only her first name.

But with the situation still "very tense", she said that "after six o'clock, you do not see anyone in the street... the neighbourhood turns into a ghost town".

An AFP journalist said the road between Latakia and Jableh further south was largely empty, with only military vehicles and ambulances passing through.

Vehicles damaged in clashes also littered the sides of the road.

In addition to the mass killings of Alawites, there have been reports of Christians being caught up in the attacks.

During a sermon in Damascus on Sunday, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X said that "many innocent Christians were also killed" alongside Alawites.

Obituaries were shared on social media for several members of the small Christian community living on the coast, seven of whom AFP was able to confirm were killed.

"We are all victims, from all sects... I believe that Christians in the area, in general, have fears just like other groups and religions," said Michel Khoury, 42, a Christian lawyer in Latakia.

"We are all on a sinking ship, and no one will protect us except ourselves."

The Syrian presidency has announced the formation of an "independent committee" to "investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible".

Amnesty International said Monday that the authorities should also "grant independent national and international investigators access to Syria, including to Syria's coastal areas, so that they can conduct their own fact-finding work".

- 'Not in control' -

Sharaa -- whose Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has its roots in the Syrian branch of jihadist network Al-Qaeda -- has vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities since toppling Assad.

HTS is still listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and other governments.

Analysts have said the latest violence calls into question the new authorities' ability to rule and rebuild a country devastated by 13 years of civil war.

"The militia chaos that we saw in the Alawite coastal cities tells us... that the new Syrian army is not in control," said Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria at the University of Oklahoma.

The violence "will hinder Ahmed al-Sharaa's efforts to consolidate his rule and to convince the international community that he is in control", Landis added.

Iran, a key backer of Assad, on Monday rejected accusations that Tehran may have been involved in the latest violence.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the claims in media reports, including from the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel, as "completely ridiculous".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Monday to continue providing "every kind of support for our neighbour Syria to recover... and to achieve peace with all its ethnic and sectarian minorities".

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