Damascus authorities announced on Monday that they have decided to "end military operations" in the regions that suffered the initial assault by insurgents loyal to the former regime, after regaining control of the main cities and villages where the Alawite minority resides, following a counteroffensive that degenerated into terrible massacres against members of that faith.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the provisional death toll stands at over a thousand people, mostly civilians from that community, settled in the west of the country, in areas like Tartus, Banias, or Latakia.
At the same time, aware of the increasing criticism of the abuses committed by the new security forces, President Ahmed Al Sharaa stated that he has ordered the establishment of a Committee to Maintain Civil Peace and another to investigate what has happened in recent days.
The first includes a former advisor to Bashar al Asad, the businessman Khaled al-Ahmad, who distanced himself from the regime in recent years, and the current governors of Latakia and Tartus, both known for being affiliated with the moderate sectors of the Salafist nebula that Sharaa led in the past, to the extent that Hassan Soufan - the governor of Latakia - was his adversary on the battlefield.
The delegation of individuals has a maximum of 30 days to present the results of their investigation into the tragic events.
Aware that he may be overshadowed by the more fundamentalist militants operating in Syrian territory, Sharaa has increased his conciliatory messages. The latest from a mosque in Damascus, where he called for "preserving national unity and civil peace."
Furthermore, it was revealed that Sharaa had reached an agreement with the Syrian Kurds to "integrate all civilian and military institutions in northeastern Syria under the Syrian State Administration, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields."
In the first interview he granted to a Western media outlet after the escalation of violence, the Head of State said he will not accept "unjust bloodshed, nor will he allow it to go unpunished or unaccounted for, not even among those closest to us."
In an unusual admission of guilt, Sharaa acknowledged that "many groups" not belonging to Damascus security forces "entered the Syrian coast (the regions where the Alawite minority lives) and many violations occurred. It became an opportunity for revenge" after years of repressed grievances, he noted.
Sharaa specified that around 200 members of the loyal uniformed personnel in his administration died in the assault by militias loyal to the former regime, although he did not dare to assess the number of civilian victims.
NGOs and experts on Syria have denounced the involvement in the crimes committed against civilian factions by jihadist groups unrelated to Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the movement led by Sharaa. Groups like Ansar al Islam - mostly composed of Iraqi Kurds - Fursan Muhammad - a Turkish-origin group - and other militias made up of Chechens, Uighurs, and citizens from Central Asian countries. This journalist was able to witness the presence of at least one African militiaman in Banias. Videos recorded by the paramilitaries show that they even have tanks.
As reported by the digital newspaper Modon, Syrian actress Noor Ali, a well-known figure in the Arab country, stated on social media that she witnessed the entire escalation of violence while in the town of Jableh when this area suffered the first attack by Assad's followers, who killed a large number of members of the official forces.
She added that the response from Damascus's uniformed personnel was mixed with the actions of "strange militants, Chechens, and Takfiris, referring to the most radical jihadists," who attacked the homes of Alawite civilians, killing many of them before the military of the new administration could regain control of the village.
She herself was targeted by a gunman trying to steal her car and was protected by police officers loyal to Sharaa.
The Damascus government was aware of the presence of these fundamentalist ideological groups and that they do not follow its orders, as they had previously been involved in several sectarian incidents.
On January 9, thousands of Alawites gathered at the funeral of three farmers who they claim were killed by foreign fighters in the Jableh region, an event attended by the main religious figure of that faith in Syria, Sheikh Shabaan Mansour, who has now joined the list of those killed in the recent raid.
Furthermore, the Syrian crisis has confirmed the political shift that the United States is undergoing, which, according to Moscow, has coordinated with that country - a former staunch rival - to convene an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council.