Syria's Alawites plead for Russian protection

Thousands of people have sought refuge in Russia’s military air base in western Syria after sectarian mass killings swept the region.

Syrian Red Crescent members evacuate wounded civilians who took refuge from violence in the Hmeimim Russian base in Syria on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

Thousands of people have sought refuge in Russia’s military air base in western Syria after sectarian mass killings swept the region.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 1225 civilians, the vast majority Alawites, had been killed since violence began last Thursday with clashes ­between security forces and fighters loyal to ousted president ­Bashar al-Assad.

“Thousands of Alawite civilians fled the massacres in the city of Jableh and its surrounding ­villages to seek refuge inside and around the Hmeimim military base,” the war monitor’s chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, said.

The killings have been concentrated on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, the heartland of the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs.

The observatory said some of the displaced, who began arriving at the base on Friday, were refusing to go home for fear of further violence, while some had had their homes destroyed. It said they were suffering from severe shortages of food, medical equipment and other essentials.

Other families were hiding in the mountains.

A member of the security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government poses with a AK-47 rifle and a rose at a location previously held by supporters of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, in the town of Hmeimim. Picture: AFP

Jableh mayor Amjad Sultan said he had come to the base to convince people it was safe to ­return home.

“We came today … to inform them that the situation outside is now safe, as security forces have begun deploying and consolidating control,” he said.

“We have transported some of the wounded, they are currently in ambulances. We will also work to evacuate the families, one by one.”

Some of the displaced were protesting outside the base, calling for international protection and chanting “Russia, Russia”.

Russia, which provided Assad with military backing during the civil war, has been trying to establish contact with the new authorities in Damascus in the hope of maintaining control of Hmeimim and its naval base in Tartus.

The UN Human Rights Office said it had documented “summary executions” that appeared “to have been carried out on a sectarian basis”.

“In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families – including women, children and individuals hors de combat – were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular,” it said.

Cars queue as civilians take refuge from violence at the Hmeimim Russian base in Syria. Picture: AFP

Human Rights Watch called on the new authorities to ensure accountability for the mass killings.

Syria’s new presidency announced on Sunday it was forming a committee to “investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible”.

The latest violence has marked the gravest threat to Syria’s new regime, calling into question its ability to govern following repeated vows it would respect the country’s various minorities.

On Monday, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the autonomous Kurdish administration that has governed much of the northeast for the past decade into the national government – a move analysts say benefits both sides at a critical juncture.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the deal on Tuesday, saying Washington “welcomes” the agreement to “integrate the northeast into a unified Syria”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also welcomed the move, saying it would “serve Syria’s security and peace”.

Syria’s new authorities under interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to disband armed groups and establish government control over the entirety of the country since ousting Assad in December after more than 13 years of civil war.

SDF, seen as essential in the fight against Islamic State jihadists, is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as an offshoot of the PKK, an outlawed group dominated by ethnic Kurds in Turkey that has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

Turkey, which has forged close relations with Mr Sharaa, has pressed Syria’s new rulers to address the issue of the YPG’s control over wide parts of Syria.

AFP