Accusing Each Other of Being Behind New Armed Violence in Syria

DAMASCUS, MONDAY — Syria's warring parties have accused each other of causing a new cycle of armed violence. As of Monday (10/3/2025), the series of violence since Thursday last week has killed nearly 900 civilians and more than 100 armed militias from the warring parties.

The accusations were conveyed by the Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi, Sunday (9/3/2025). According to him, factions within the Syrian security forces supported by Turkey and extreme Islamic groups are the parties most responsible for the armed violence that has occurred since last Thursday.

Abdi urged Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to intervene to stop the violence, which has led to massacres of the minority Alawite community in several coastal areas of Syria.

On the other hand, according to a report by the Anadolu news agency, Rami Makhlouf accused Brigadier General Ghiyath Dalla of inciting unrest and trying to exploit civilians. Makhlouf is one of the nephews of Havez Al-Assad, President of Syria 1971-2000. While Dalla was an officer in the Fourth Division of the Syrian Army during the government of Bashar Al-Assad, President of Syria 2000-2024.

“What have you done to our people, Ghiyat Dalla? What have you done to the civilians around you? Why do you look at innocent civilians in your affairs and exploit their need for money,” he wrote on social media.

Makhlouf also openly criticized Bashar Assad for his actions that have led to the destruction of Syria. "Haven't you, Mr. Runaway President, destroyed the country, divided it, destroyed its military and economy, starved its people, and fled with money that, if distributed, would ensure that no one goes hungry or poor?" he wrote.

Another accusation was made by the leader of the Houthi Group in Yemen, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. He said that armed violence was carried out by takfiri groups supported by the United States and Israel.

Houthi did not explicitly name any specific group as responsible for the armed violence. However, Houthi's mention of the takfiri group is thought to refer to armed groups that had close ties with the US when the Assad regime was still in power.

Since armed violence erupted last Thursday in Latakia and Tartus, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), more than 1,000 people have been killed, including nearly 900 civilians.

They died from being shot at a distance of less than five meters. Some were shot from behind.

In addition, militias affiliated with Assad's pro-government groups and the new Syrian government were also killed. Some of the Assad-supporting militias had joined the Syrian commandos. Meanwhile, the new government-supporting militias had joined Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

During the Syrian civil war, HTS was led by Al-Sharaa who used to use the name Mohammed Al-Golani. Because HTS was once part of Al-Qaeda, Al-Golani aka Al-Sharaa is on the US wanted list with a million US dollar bounty.

The violence centered in Latakia and Tartus has caused security in Syria to decline. The civil war that has been going on in Syria for the past decade has resulted in a complex political and security map in the country that is considered to have strategic value.

Many parties are involved in the war, such as Russia, the United States, Türkiye, Iran and Israel. Each with its own interests.

The SDF led by Abdi became part of the HTS forces after last December starting a surprise attack on the bases of the Assad government forces, especially in Alleppo and Idlib. The attacks on the two cities were one of the main sources of the fall of the Assad regime.

While the SDF is part of the US coalition forces to face the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) group, the SDF is considered by the Turkish government as an “enemy” because it is seen as the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group considered a terror group by Ankara.

In Syria, Turkey has a “network” to help it face the SDF, namely through the Syrian National Army (SNA) which is also part of the opposition forces under the umbrella of HTS. The SNA is also said to be part of the security forces in the new Syrian government under Ahmed al-Sharaa.

At the same time, Abdi said he was in talks about merging his forces with the new Syrian Army under Sharaa's control. In the talks, Abdi asked Sharaa to consider the methods of forming the new Syrian army and the behavior of the armed factions that were once under the HTS umbrella. He suspected that some of these groups were exploiting their positions in the new Syrian army to create sectarian conflict.

Hakan Fidan, Turkey's Foreign Minister and a former intelligence officer, said the armed violence in Syria was an attempt to thwart the government's policy of not responding to provocations for weeks. Together with several neighboring countries of Syria, such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Lebanon, Turkey supports all efforts by the new Syrian government to maintain its security stability.

Fidan said that Türkiye and Syria's neighboring countries agreed to help the country maintain its security situation, starting from forming joint operations and intelligence to face ISIS, Israel's expansionist policies to expelling the PKK.

"The expulsion of the PKK, which is a common enemy of Iraq, Syria and Türkiye, from the region and the end of its armed terrorist activities is one of our priorities," he said.

In order to provide security for citizens and maintain security stability, al-Sharaa announced the formation of a committee to investigate armed violence on the Syrian coast. He stated that the fact-finding team is expected to work quickly and produce recommendations for a solution to prevent Syria from being dragged back into civil war.

"We announce the formation of a fact-finding committee regarding the events on the coast and the formation of a higher committee," al-Sharaa said in his speech on Sunday. He also said the government would hold anyone involved in the killing of civilians accountable. The perpetrators would be tried in court.

The committee will be tasked with finding facts about the causes of armed violence in coastal cities and identifying the perpetrators. The committee is expected to issue a report and recommendations to the president within 30 days of its formation.

"The Committee has the right to use anyone it deems appropriate to carry out its duties, and submit its report to the President of the Republic within a maximum period of thirty days from the date of issuance of this decree," the president's statement read.

United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk demanded an immediate investigation into the killings and said those responsible must be held accountable. Turk said announcements by state authorities to respect the law need to be followed by action to protect Syrians and ensure accountability for violations. (AP/AFP/Reuters)