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NEW YORK - The United Nations on Tuesday called on Damascus to hold perpetrators of sectarian violence accountable and to ensure that victims receive justice.
“it is vital that the government pursue accountability, that all perpetrators, regardless of their own affiliation, whether professional or ethnic, be brought to justice, the families, the victims are entitled to justice,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told Rudaw in New York.
In March, violence erupted in Syria’s Alawite-majority coastal areas after armed groups, many loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad, launched attacks on forces allied with the government, prompting Damascus to respond with force.
At least 1,700 people, mainly Alawite civilians, were killed in the waves of violence, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said that most of the casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces.
On Tuesday, a fact-finding committee probing the violence in the coastal areas identified 298 suspects complicit in the violence, which included “murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture, and sectarian insults.”
A fresh wave of violence has also rocked the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province.
The fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes erupted on June 13, leading to a regional crisis as Israel intervened in support of the Druze, striking several targets, including Syrian state forces and an airstrike on the defense ministry building in Damascus.
At least 1,300 people have been killed in the violence in Suwayda, according to the Observatory.
While Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to form an “inclusive transitional government that would reflect Syria’s diversity,” he continues to face domestic and international criticism over his perceived marginalization of minority communities.
“The transitional government is exactly that, and I think it inherited, it came to power the way we know it came to power. It inherited a country that had been for more than ten years in conflict. There are a lot of issues that they have to deal with. We are there to support them,” Dujarric affirmed.
“it is vital that the government pursue accountability, that all perpetrators, regardless of their own affiliation, whether professional or ethnic, be brought to justice, the families, the victims are entitled to justice,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told Rudaw in New York.
In March, violence erupted in Syria’s Alawite-majority coastal areas after armed groups, many loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad, launched attacks on forces allied with the government, prompting Damascus to respond with force.
At least 1,700 people, mainly Alawite civilians, were killed in the waves of violence, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said that most of the casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces.
On Tuesday, a fact-finding committee probing the violence in the coastal areas identified 298 suspects complicit in the violence, which included “murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture, and sectarian insults.”
A fresh wave of violence has also rocked the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province.
The fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes erupted on June 13, leading to a regional crisis as Israel intervened in support of the Druze, striking several targets, including Syrian state forces and an airstrike on the defense ministry building in Damascus.
At least 1,300 people have been killed in the violence in Suwayda, according to the Observatory.
While Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to form an “inclusive transitional government that would reflect Syria’s diversity,” he continues to face domestic and international criticism over his perceived marginalization of minority communities.
“The transitional government is exactly that, and I think it inherited, it came to power the way we know it came to power. It inherited a country that had been for more than ten years in conflict. There are a lot of issues that they have to deal with. We are there to support them,” Dujarric affirmed.
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