Calls for unity in Syria after reports that over 1,000 people died in fighting in recent days

LAST UPDATE | 9 hrs ago

MORE THAN 1,000 people have died in the worst clashes in Syria since the Bashar al-Assad regime was overthrown, according to war monitor reports.

The interim President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has called for national unity and peace this morning after violence erupted on Thursday between the new security forces and al-Assad loyalists in the northwest, along the Mediterranean coast of the country.

It has since escalated into the largest challenge to the new government’s forces. Sharaa pleaded with the country to “preserve national unity” and civility in a speech this morning.

The United Nations said reports of entire families being killed in northwestern Syria was “extremely disturbing” and it called for an immediate halt to the violence.

UN rights chief Volker Turk demanded prompt investigations into the killings and said those responsible must be held to account.

Turk said in a statement: “There are reports of summary executions on a sectarian basis by unidentified perpetrators, by members of the caretaker authorities’ security forces, as well as by elements associated with the former government.”

He said that “we are receiving extremely disturbing reports of entire families, including women, children and hors de combat fighters, being killed” and demanded that “the killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease, immediately”.

Turk said announcements by the country’s authorities to respect the law need to be followed by action to protect Syrians, and to ensure accountability for abuses.

“There must be prompt, transparent and impartial investigations into all the killings and other violations, and those responsible must be held to account, in line with international law norms and standards. Groups terrorising civilians must also be held accountable,” Turk said.

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Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s chief called the clashes deeply concerning and said they were directly impacting people’s health, as health facilities and ambulances had been damaged.

“WHO is working to deliver emergency medicines and trauma supplies for the immediate care of the injured,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

“WHO urges all parties to respect and safeguard health services to ensure medical aid reaches those who need it most. Peace is the best medicine,” the UN health agency’s director-general said.
The placeholder leader, whose government is working to unify factions of the country which was torn by a deadly civil war for years, asked citizens to aim towards being able to live alongside one another.

A spokesperson for the government has said forces entered the region to regain control of the area and restore order after alleged attacks by Assad loyalists.

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Right has reported that 745 Alawite civilians – which al-Assad enjoyed a received majority of support from – have been killed in their home provinces in recent weeks.

Some were killed in “executions” carried out by pro-government forces, the Britain-based Observatory said. Security personnel later looted homes and properties in the area, it added. 

A total of 1,018 people have been killed in recent days of fighting in the region, which began after security forces were deployed to ‘restore order’ in the region, according to the state-news agency SANA.

Samir Haidar, a 67-year-old in Baniyas, has told the AFP news agency that two of his brothers and his niece were killed by armed groups that entered their homes. He added that there were foreign fighters among the groups.

Haidar, though an Alawite, was a part of the leftist opposition to the Assad regime, he said, and was imprisoned for more than a decade under its rule.

- © AFP 2025