Security Council agrees to condemn massacre of Alawites in Syria

The United Nations Security Council has agreed to a statement condemning widespread violence in Syria and urging the country’s new administration to protect all ethnic and religious minorities, diplomats say.

The presidential statement, drafted by Russia and the US is due to be formally adopted on Friday, the diplomats said Thursday.

"The Security Council calls on the interim authorities to protect all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religion," reads the statement, seen by Reuters.

"Syria's interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these mass killings accountable," it adds.

The statement comes after the 15-member UNSC met behind closed doors on Syria on Monday, as the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 1,300 people were killed in Syria’s coastal region.

According to the UN human rights office, entire families, including women and children, were killed in Tartus and Latakia, where members of former President Assad's minority Alawite sect lived.

Fighting between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants and loyalists of the former government erupted on March 6, after earlier tensions escalated into reported mass killings.

The bloodshed began when militants attempted to detain an individual in Beit Ana village of the Jableh district in Latakia Governorate, but were ambushed by armed Bashar al-Assad supporters.

In response, the HTS administration launched violent crackdowns in Alawite strongholds in the western coastal region.

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The council statement also "reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and calls on all States to respect these principles and to refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize Syria."

Following the downfall of Assad in December, the Israeli military has been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army.

The strikes were accompanied by ground incursions, as tanks and armored bulldozers penetrated Syrian territory, beyond the Golan Heights to Qatana, barely 30 kilometers from Damascus.

The UNSC statement also emphasizes the significance of countering terrorism in Syria and expresses "grave concern over the acute threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters," calling on Damascus to take "decisive measures to address the threat."

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group along with other militants seized control of Damascus on December 8, 2024, forcing Assad to leave the country.

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