Moscow and Washington have jointly convened closed consultations of the UN Security Council on March 10 on the bloody clashes in areas inhabited by the Alawite minority. The transitional government in Damascus claims that it has managed to stop the outbreak of tension, the largest since the change of power in Syria. However, representatives of the Syrian minorities now distrust the center. The Kurds called on Damascus to reconsider the methods of creating a new army.
The issue of resolving the situation on the Syrian coast should be considered as soon as possible in order to completely eliminate episodes related to bloodshed. This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov. “There (in Syria. – “NG”) there is a manifestation of violence, which cannot but cause our deep concern. This concern is shared in many countries of the world and international organizations, including the UN,” the Kremlin representative drew attention.
The interim government in Damascus announced on March 10 that the organizers of the uprising in western Syria had been eliminated. As Sajid al-Dik, a representative of the Syrian security forces in the coastal province of Latakia, explained to Syria TV, formations close to the current government managed to clear several strategic areas. However, he did not deny that security raids were still ongoing to eliminate the threat. Ad-Dik acknowledged that the forces of the Transitional Government had suffered losses as a result of the clashes.
At the same time, the Syrian government seems to be trying to “calm down” the situation around the mass deaths of civilians at the hands of security forces, and lay the main responsibility for the large-scale massacre on supporters of the previous government and Iran.
The number of those who have died in the provinces of Tartus, Latakia and Homs since last week is approaching a thousand people. The coastal areas are inhabited mainly by Alawites, a Syrian religious minority from which representatives of the previous political and military elite of Syria came.
The fact of the massacre in Alawite settlements raises the question of Damascus’ ability and desire to protect the interests of all population groups.
The Syrian security services are now hatching a plan to, by their admission, prevent sabotage by forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad. “At the upcoming stage, the security services will take measures to intensify their work in order to ensure the stability and well–being of citizens and maintain security,” said Hassan Abdel Ghani, an official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the new authorities. “They have developed a new plan in order to complete the fight against the remnants of the former regime, as well as eliminate any threat in the future and prevent the reorganization of criminal cells.”
Separately, the transitional Government arrests those Syrians who held high positions during the era of Bashar al-Assad. This campaign is underway even in those areas that are not connected to the coast. “As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain security and stability, and after careful investigation and monitoring, we have successfully detained four leaders of groups linked to remnants of the former regime,” said Diaa al–Omar, head of the Transitional Government’s Security Forces in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)– a paramilitary alliance dominated by Kurdish formations, called on the leader of the transitional period, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to intervene to stop the massacre. The commander of the DSS, Mazlum Abdi, said that the “main responsibility” for the bloodshed lies with groups “supported by Turkey and Islamic extremists.” He called on the interim Syrian president to “reconsider the method of forming a new Syrian army and the behavior of armed groups,” saying that some of them use their role in the army “to create sectarian conflicts and settle internal scores.”
Interestingly, the Brussels bureaucracy has taken a position very close to Damascus. But not everyone in Europe is ready to make concessions to the transitional government. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrault had a tough conversation with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and demanded that Damascus punish those responsible for the deaths of civilians. “I expressed France’s concern, strongly condemning the atrocities against the civilian population and demanding that those responsible for these crimes be punished,” the minister said on his microblog.
The situation may affect the willingness of some countries to lift sanctions on Syria and return refugees there. According to Austrian Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler, his country will assess the current situation in Syria to see how stable the security situation is before expelling the refugees. According to him, the Austrian Interior Ministry and the Austrian Foreign Ministry should jointly study the possibility of a safe return of refugees to Syria, although earlier the European country, like a significant number of EU partners, announced the freezing of asylum applications from people from Syria.
Syria’s neighbors also react differently to the events. Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have issued a joint statement calling for sanctions to be lifted against Damascus to give it a break.
Israel, in turn, makes it clear that it can increase activity in the Syrian territory, where its forces entered after the collapse of the Assad government. Israeli media are actively distributing a letter from representatives of the Alawite community to the Prime Minister of the Jewish state, Benjamin Netanyahu, which calls for “protection, assistance, assistance and support” and “send their planes and troops” to protect the coast.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed head of the Israeli General Staff, Eyal Zamir, has already inspected the positions of Israeli troops inside the buffer zone in Syria. The troops of the Jewish State, which have significantly strengthened their presence in the neutral zone defined by the 1974 border agreement, have been put on alert since December. Earlier, the Israeli Defense Ministry explained the need to build up power in Syria, including protecting local national minorities from Islamist groups that control Damascus.
In a conversation with NG, Vladimir Frolov, an expert on international relations, explained that it is beneficial for Russia to have “as many as possible” negotiating areas with the administration of US President Donald Trump, in addition to Ukraine. “If a quick peace does not work out in Ukraine and Trump’s diplomacy runs into a wall, it is important that Trump’s ardent interest in dialogue remains and does not cool down,” the source explained. According to him, there is a high risk that by resolving the situation in Ukraine, the American side will reduce cooperation with the Russian Federation, and this does not meet Russian interests. Moscow would prefer a “long-term geopolitical friendship” with the current administration, Frolov concluded.
