The violence in Latakia claimed over 800 lives, including Alawite civilians and government security officials [Getty/file photo]
The EU has welcomed Syria’s establishment of a fact-finding committee to investigate a recent wave of deadly violence, calling for perpetrators to be “brought to justice”.
“We strongly condemn the attacks by pro-Assad militias against security forces,” the EU said in a statement released late Tuesday.
“We also condemn in the strongest terms the horrific crimes committed against civilians, including summary killings, many of which have been allegedly perpetrated by armed groups supporting the security forces of the transitional authorities.”
A wave of violence broke out last Thursday, mainly in the Mediterranean heartland of the Alawite minority, the deadliest since the Bashar al-Assad regime was ousted in December by interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s HTS group.
At least 803 extrajudicial killings took place in Syria between 6 March and 10 March, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) monitor.
The UN Human Rights Office said it had documented “summary executions” that appeared “to have been carried out on a sectarian basis”.
“We welcome the commitments made by the transitional authorities, and in particular the establishment of an investigative committee, in order to hold the perpetrators accountable,” the EU said.
The bloc called on the authorities to also allow international investigators to probe the violence.
“Everything must be done to prevent any such crimes from happening again,” it said.
The 27-nation bloc in addition welcomed an agreement to integrate the autonomous Kurdish administration that has governed much of the northeast for the past decade into the national government.
Syria’s new authorities under Al-Sharaa have sought to disband armed groups and establish government control over the entirety of the country.
“This agreement could pave the way for increased stability and a better future for many Syrians. We encourage the parties to work on implementation and we stand ready to support,” the EU said.
The international community is closely following developments in Syria as it hopes the country will steer away from years of bloodshed after almost 14 years of a devastating civil war.
The EU has suspended sanctions on key sectors of the Syrian economy in a bid to help the country’s recovery.
But the bloc has warned it could reimpose the measures if the new authorities do not make good on promises for an inclusive transition.
