While there have been bursts of deadly sectarian violence in the days since Assad was ousted, it’s nothing close to what was feared after nearly 14 years of civil war.
The group — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS — had ties to al-Qaida, but it has vowed not to discriminate against any religion or ethnicity, and it has denounced revenge killings.
The vast majority have been from the minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shia Islam that the Assad family adheres to.
But HTS has worked to reduce tensions in villages where revenge killings — as well as looting and harassment — have taken place, according to local activists.
Syrians look at photos of missing persons at the Ibn Rushd psychiatric hospital in Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy/ AFP)“The extent of the reprisals has been quite limited,” said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut. “We hope this violence will not escalate, leading to an outburst of civil strife.”
The interim government led by HTS has vowed to gather evidence and hold trials in a special court against former officials who oversaw, or worked in, Assad’s notorious prisons.
“If we want to establish social peace there must be justice, and there is no justice without accountability,” said Obeida Arnaout, a spokesman for the interim government.
The interim government has urged reconciliation among the country’s different ethnic factions — mainly Arabs and Kurds — and mutual respect among its religious groups.
A Syrian man sells vegetables in front of a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy/ AFP)Under Assad, Syrians enjoyed religious and other freedoms. Men and women mingled freely at beaches and other public places; restaurants served alcoholic beverages; and women held senior posts in government.
So far, the HTS-led coalition has not imposed any strict religious rules, such as forcing women to wear veils, and it has allowed journalists from around the world to report freely.
HTS is led by a former al-Qaida member who has renounced extremism and spent years working to remake his public image, depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.
One of the top priorities of HTS and its leader – Ahmad al-Sharaa – is to get the terror designation removed, which could then lead to economic sanctions against Syria being lifted.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last weekend that the US is in contact with HTS and that its “message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”
A man has his headshot taken with his registration number at a reconciliation center on December 19, 2024 in Latakia, Syria. Reconciliation centers have opened up in various cities across the country giving former conscripts of the Assad regime a chance to clear their names of any wrong doing and to gain new ID’s and sever any previous ties with the regime. (Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)It says the killings occurred in four religiously mixed provinces — Hama and Homs in central Syria, and Tartus and Latakia along its eastern coast.
In nearby Mouaa, six men were killed, and in Um al-Amad, a man and his son were shot dead, the resident of Bahra said.
“The reason why I am speaking is to try stop the killings,” he said.
He said al-Haybe’s body and three other unidentified dead bodies were later found near a military post.
By the end of the meeting, the participants reconciled and agreed to end any acts of violence, according to this person, who is Alawite and insisted on anonymity out of fear.
The man said his house was looted and his six cows were stolen.
Syrian media reported that he met in Damascus on Monday with a delegation from the Druze community and told them that his goal was to unite Syria and create a free society.
Instead, Assad’s army essentially melted away and chose not to defend his government.
With wires
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