Syria’s Sharaa calls for peace as clashes kills over 1,000 people along coastline

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa urged national unity and peace on Sunday following days of intense clashes between security forces and pro-Assad insurgents along the country’s Mediterranean coast, where over 1,000 people have reportedly been killed.

Sharaa urges national unity amid escalating violence

Speaking from a mosque in Damascus, al-Sharaa emphasized the need for cohesion during a volatile period in Syria’s transition.

“We have to preserve national unity and domestic peace; we can live together,” Sharaa said in a circulated video, speaking at a mosque in his childhood neighborhood of Mazzah, in Damascus.

“Rest assured about Syria; this country has the characteristics for survival… What is currently happening in Syria is within the expected challenges.”

Sharaa’s call for unity comes as his opposition-led government faces the most significant security challenge since toppling Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December.

Clashes in Syria’s coastal regions

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that at least 1,018 people have died since Thursday. Among them, 745 were Alawite civilians, 125 were security personnel, and 148 were fighters loyal to the former Bashar al-Assad regime.

The clashes began after pro-Assad forces launched coordinated attacks on security forces across cities. The violence quickly escalated as thousands of armed supporters of the new administration traveled to the coastal areas to assist security forces in repelling the former regime’s loyalists.

Clashes, now in their fourth day, have centered in Assad’s coastal heartland, with a security source reporting that fighting has slowed around Latakia, Jabla, and Baniyas. However, forces continue to search mountainous areas where an estimated 5,000 pro-Assad insurgents are believed to be hiding.

Growing insurgency and retaliatory violence

After months of relative calm following Assad’s removal, violence surged as the new government launched a crackdown on an insurgency growing within the Alawite sect in Latakia and Tartous.

A Syrian security source said at least 200 security personnel had been killed in clashes with former army personnel loyal to Assad. The fighting intensified after Thursday’s coordinated attacks and ambushes on government forces.

Attacks on infrastructure, security measures

Syrian security officials reported that pro-Assad insurgents have begun targeting critical infrastructure, including a major power station, cutting electricity across parts of the province. A main water pumping station and several fuel depots have also been disrupted.

“They are now trying to create havoc, disrupt life, and attack vital installations,” a Syrian security source told Reuters.

In response, police have mounted new checkpoints in Latakia, while additional reinforcements have been sent to mountainous areas where the rugged terrain provides a tactical advantage for anti-government fighters.

Residents in Latakia reported hearing gunfire and artillery on the outskirts of the city.

International reactions, calls for peace

The European Union, whose officials have met with al-Sharaa since he was appointed interim leader, condemned “all violence against civilians” and “any attempts to undermine stability and the prospects for a lasting peaceful transition” in Syria.

Germany’s foreign ministry described the reported mass killings as “shocking” in a statement and called on the transitional government to prevent further violence and hold those responsible accountable.

We condemn the outbreak of violence in the Syrian regions of Tartus, Latakia and Homs. Reports of the murder of civilians and prisoners are shocking. The transitional government has a responsibility to prevent further attacks, investigate the incidents and bring those responsible to justice. We urge all sides to put an end to the violence.

Only in this way can social peace be established after decades of the Assad terror regime and the path of an inclusive political process be taken, which is so important for the sustainable pacification and stabilization of Syria.

The future of the country must be in the hands of all Syrians – regardless of their ethnicity, religion or gender – free from any foreign attempts at destabilization.

German Foreign Ministry