Syrian ethnic tensions erupt in deadly clashes, questioning Europe's sanctions lift

Many of the cases documented were of summary executions. They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis,

Al-Kheetan told reporters

Syria’s new leaders promised to break with the horrors of the past, but grave abuses on a staggering scale are being reported against predominantly Alawite Syrians in the coastal region and elsewhere in Syria,

HRW’s Deputy Regional Director Adam Coogle said in a statement

The new Syria is determined to enshrine justice and the rule of law, protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens, prevent unlawful revenge and guarantee that there is no impunity,

Yasser al-Farhan, the spokesperson of the new fact-finding committee, told a news conference in Damascus on Tuesday

In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families – including women, children and individuals hors de combat – were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular,

UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Tuesday

Government action to protect civilians and prosecute perpetrators of indiscriminate shootings, summary executions, and other grave crimes must be swift and unequivocal,

he added

I trust my leadership very much, and they are the ones who verify the news,

the person explained

The surge in disinformation and hate speech online is both fueling the violence and deepening divisions,

Razan Rashidi, director of UK-based advocacy organization, The Syria Campaign, told DW

They give me the posts, and I publish,

the social media user told DW

We observed a significant surge,

Zouhir al-Shimale, a researcher and communications manager for Verify-Sy, told DW

Please, we want the shooting to stop so we can bury the bodies that are filling up the streets,

somebody else from Jableh, a town near the coastal city of Latakia, where the violence that killed about 800 people over the weekend apparently began

This was evident when figures like Elon Musk and [US pundit] Tucker Carlson amplified outright disinformation about Syria, leveraging X's network to promote these narratives,

al-Shimale adds

They're burning the village now,

one Syrian user reported on Facebook

I am in Jableh. Nothing is wrong. There's no shooting,

another man wrote, adding to the confusion

Most of those who work in this field are unemployed, or disabled as a result of fighting, or women whose husbands died in the war,

the person continued

When the remnants (of al-Assad’s forces) took control of cities and villages, in a matter of hours … they started killing and shooting,

he told Euronews

Bashar al-Assadpresident

These remnants have a history of massacres and killing the Syrian people … for 54 years,

referencing the time the al-Assad family spent in power, starting with Bashar’s father, Hafez

Without a speedy lifting of western sanctions, the vicious cycle of poverty and insecurity may very well result in a major escalation,

Angieri explained

Petty theft, carjackings, violent attacks, and kidnappings are not uncommon,

he told Euronews

No one is above the law. The committee will relay all the results to the entity that launched it, the presidency, and the judiciary,

committee spokesperson Yasser Farhan said in a televised press conference

Dmitry Peskovkremlin spokesman

We are ready and in contact with other countries on the Syrian issue,

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters