This content was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The United Nations and the United States have called on Arab authorities to take urgent action after it was reported that Syrian government troops have killed thousands of residents belonging to the Alawite minority party in recent days.
The U. K. based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights ( SOHR ) said on March 8 that it had identified 745 civilians belonging to the Alawite minority who were killed in two days of clashes between security forces and fighters loyal to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad in Latakia Province. The figures have not yet been independently verified.
” The killing of civilians in coastal regions in west Syria must begin, immediately”, UN right main Volker Turk said in a speech on March 9.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Syria’s time officials to hold responsible the “radical Islamist extremists, including international islamists” who have committed “massacres against Syria’s majority areas” in recent days.
” The United States stands with Syria’s spiritual and cultural minority”, Rubio said in a speech on March 9.
Reuters quoted officials as saying the United States and Russia have asked the Security Council to join behind closed doors on March 10 over the escalating crime. Russian state media quoted Moscow’s UN vision as saying the gathering would start at 10 a. m.
According to SOHR, the full death toll from the assault rose to more than 1, 000, including at least 125 surveillance officers and 148 Assad loyalists.
The tracking group, which has a system of resources across Syria, said most of the human subjects were shot at close range by” security forces and allied parties”.
The conflicts that erupted on March 6 indicate the government’s worst outbreak of violence since the government of Assad, an alliance of Iran and Russia, was overthrown in December.
Reuters and Al-Jazeera reported that dozens of people, mostly women, children, and mothers, have sought shelter at the Russian Khmeimim military base in the Latakia landscape. There has been no urgent reply from the Russian government.
The tracking team even reported that energy and drinking water were cut off in big locations around the town of Latakia, the homeland of the Alawite majority to which Assad belonged.
Sharaa’s Struggle To Maintain Control
Ahmed Sharaa, Syria’s time leader, called for peace on March 9, saying the country has to “preserve national unity and local peacefulness”.
” We will be able to sit together in this state”, Sharaa said speaking at a mosque in Damascus.
Sharaa had previously blamed what he called “remnants” of Assad’s state for the assault, but he did not address claims that his troops had killed citizens.
Reuters cited a Palestinian cause as saying on March 9 that clashes continued over in some towns where armed groups fired on protection forces and assaulted cars on highways leading to major towns in the southern area.
A punishment has been enforced in Homs, Latakia, and Tartus due to ongoing battle.
Analysts say the fighting exposes Sharaa’s struggle to maintain control in a post-Assad Syria — to the delight of Iran, Israel, and even Islamic State ( IS ) extremists.
Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at the New York-based Soufan Group knowledge firm, said what is transpiring in Latakia is” just an inescapable results” in any post conflict setting.
Did Iran Start The Unrest?
The fighting started about a week after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country is a major backer of Sharaa’s rule, warned Iran against moving to challenge the new Syrian government by empowering groups opposed to it.
He warned that it “would not be the right” approach and said doing so may result in “another country doing the same thing to you in return”.
Sharaa, who saw Ankara-backed groups join the offensive launched by his US-designated terrorist group  , Hayat Tahrir al-Sham , ( HTS ) against Assad, has received scores of foreign delegations since seizing power in Damascus but has frozen Iran out in favor of its rivals Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as Western nations.
Phillip Smyth, an expert on Iranian proxies andShi’ite militias, said there is” a lot of evidence” pointing to Tehran’s involvement in the new outbreak of violence.
Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said after Assad’s fall that Syrians would revolt against Sharaa’s rule.
Smyth said Tehran “is happy this was set off”, especially since it establishes that Iran” can cause massive disruption” despite losing a key ally in Assad.
” Better for Tehran is the fact that HTS militants demonstrated they would engage in human rights abuses. Iran desired an overreaction”, he added.
Some observers have also suggested Tehran could look to back the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF) to challenge not only Sharaa, but also Turkey’s growing influence.
The SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told Reuters on March 9 that factions” supported by Turkey and Islamic extremists” were chiefly responsible for the latest violence in Latakia.
Syria, under Assad’s rule,  , played , a pivotal role in Iran’s strategic land corridor to the Levant. This corridor was crucial for Iran’s regional influence, serving as the logistical backbone for its network of state and nonstate actors.
Who Else Stands to Gain From The Unrest?
Since rebels seized power, the new government has faced numerous security challenges.
Elements loyal to Assad, who belongs to the Alawite community, have sporadically attacked the new government’s security forces, while IS remains active in various pockets throughout the country.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have expanded territorial control in southern Syria, with reports saying they are positioned about 20 kilometers from the capital. Israel has been targeting military assets and demanding the demilitarization of southern Syria.
” IS is extremely opportunistic and will be biding its time and waiting to strike. Israel will also take advantage of the situation by launching more strikes in the south of Syria”, Clarke said.
” Sharaa is indeed struggling with control, but much of this is to be expected”, he added.
