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UN official calls for transparent probe after coastal attacks in Syria that killed civilians
Summary
A UN official told the Security Council that coordinated attacks on March 6 in Syria's coastal region led to mass civilian deaths and alleged summary executions, and urged independent, public investigations and protection of witnesses.
A UN official told the Security Council that coordinated attacks on March 6 in Syria’s coastal region resulted in mass civilian casualties, including alleged summary executions of entire families, and urged an independent, transparent investigation.
The official said the attacks were “striking” in scale and sophistication and were claimed by groups of former regime officers. The caretaker authorities reported assaults on military and internal security targets and multiple hospitals, and said forces had streamed into the coast from other parts of Syria, including fighters “under the control of or affiliated or at least nominally associated with the caretaker ministry of defense,” as well as foreign fighters and spontaneously armed affiliated groups.
The statement described an “appalling civilian death toll,” including accounts of summary killings and widespread footage of what the official characterized as sectarian and retaliatory violations singling out Alawites. The official said the situation had “comparatively calmed after several days” but reported ongoing harassment, intimidation and reinforced security presence in the area.
The caretaker authorities announced an independent investigative committee tasked with examining violations by all sides and submitting findings within 30 days. The UN official said the committee met with the UN team in Damascus “2 days ago,” and that UN bodies stand ready to support the inquiry. “Findings need to be made public and those responsible held accountable with a clear signal that the era of impunity in Syria is in the past,” the official said.
The official also noted the caretaker authorities’ formation of a high commission for civil peace in the coastal region and urged that the commission engage Syrian civil society organizations to assist in local dialogue and peacebuilding. The UN has been facilitating contacts and said it will continue engagement to contain the aftermath and build trust.
The Security Council issued a clear condemnation of the events, the official said, but also stressed the need for investigations that are effective, transparent, independent and comprehensive, with witness protection against intimidation.
The UN official concluded that further investigation is needed to determine perpetrators and that accountability will be essential to signal an end to impunity.
