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UN deputy envoy to Syria urges accountability over violations in coast

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
20 Mar 2025 23:49

Massacres against minorities led by security forces and their allied groups on Syria’s Mediterranean coast killed more than over 1,500 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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Security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government stand guard at a checkpoint previously held by supporters of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, in the town of Hmeimim, in the coastal province of Latakia, on March 11, 2025. (AFP)

Syrian security forces deployed to the coastal region had committed "violations", the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Najat Rochdi, told Al Mayadeen on Thursday, emphasizing the need for accountability and an end to what she referred to as "acts of reprisal."

Rochdi indicated that the events in Syria’s coastal region had "led to a loss of trust among residents regarding their return home."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, following a meeting with Syria’s interim leadership on Thursday, stressed the urgent need to rein in extremist groups responsible for this month’s sectarian massacres and to hold them accountable.

"It is imperative that extremist groups in their ranks are brought under control and those responsible for crimes are held accountable," she stated after talks in Damascus with interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and other officials.

"Any attempt at renewed escalation must be prevented."

Her visit came weeks after sectarian massacres led by security forces and their allied groups on Syria’s Mediterranean coast—home to the Alawite minority—killed more than over 1,500 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The monitor raised concerns about the way victims were being buried in mass graves, warning that these sites could later be exploited as "propaganda to promote narratives serving political agendas, with accusations leveled against so-called remnants of the regime for committing war crimes."

Additionally, the observatory reported "human rights violations perpetrated by security forces, the Ministry of Defense, and affiliated groups," citing cases of summary executions, forced displacement, and the burning of homes, all carried out with no legal deterrent.