Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
12 March 2025 | 13:44 CAT
2-minute read

Image: WJTV (Screenshot)

In brief:

• Despite Syria’s newfound freedom, there has been an escalation in deadly violence, particularly in coastal areas like Latakia. Pro-Assad gunmen have clashed with security officials, and revenge killings have intensified, with reports of hospitals being blocked and a death toll exceeding 1000.
• Syrian women and civil society groups are calling for a structured approach to justice to prevent the country from descending into further conflict.
• The new government must establish legitimacy and secure international recognition to facilitate economic recovery.

Clashes between different sectors have rocked Syria’s new-found peace, with more than 800 people killed during the battles last week.

The clashes, which occurred primarily along Syria’s coast in the Tartous, Latakia and Hama governates, are between Assad armed groups and forces loyal to the new Syrian regime.

“It started on Thursday when pro-Assad gunmen attacked security officials and it has escalated since then,” Qaanitah Hunter said during this week’s Debrief Report.

The region is reportedly the birthplace of Assad regime and is also home to the country’s largest oil refinery. Security forces said armed fighters attempted to attack the refinery but were thwarted.

The Assad family, who ruled Syria for over five decades before Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham led the offensive to topple the regime in December 2024, are members of the minority Shiite Muslim sect, which lives in Sunni-majority Syria.

Since Assad’s fall, intense efforts have been made to stabilise the country’s national security, economy and social fabric, Hunter said. She noted that despite the ousting of the Assad regime three months ago, remnants of the former government continue to resist the new administration’s authority.

“Reports on the ground tell us about how these gunmen surrounded hospitals in the area, did not allow the wounded to come to hospitals, and then escalated to what is now being described as revenge killings, widespread revenge killings,” she said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has since reported that the death toll has exceeded 1000 people.

The situation is exacerbated by returning refugees uncovering the fates of their missing relatives, leading to fears of further retaliatory attacks. Efforts to implement transitional justice have been central to preventing such violence. Hunter recounted her meeting with Dr Musa Mustafa, a coordinator of the National Dialogue in Idlib, who emphasised that transitional justice is a top priority.

“What they are concerned about is that the anger and the fear, the anger that’s palatable in the country, given the brutality, given the level of violence that people faced by the regime, that people will take law into their own hands,” Hunter said.

While the new administration is working to establish governance and stabilise the country, international observers remain cautious. Hunter also spoke with Aisha Dibs, head of women’s affairs in the Shara administration, who highlighted the concerns of Syrian women regarding potential cycles of revenge. “The people that were making this plea at the national dialogue and in other conversations were women of the country, because they said they understand that there’s going to be this temptation to fall into revenge killings, and that will further plunge Syria into civil war,” she explained.

The challenge ahead for Syria is monumental. As the new government seeks legitimacy on the international stage, economic and security concerns remain at the forefront. Calls for the lifting of US sanctions and the return of skilled professionals to rebuild the country are growing.

Listen to the Debrief Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Junaid Kharsany.