Syria's interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country, and promised to punish those responsible,

Fighting between security forces and pro-Assad militants is worst in years; death toll, mostly of Alawites, considered among highest in Syria since 2013 chemical weapon attack

The killings occurred in the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, escalating after a nascent insurgency formed against the Sunni Islamist government.

In a speech broadcast on national TV and posted on social media, Sharaa, whose rebel movement toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, also promised to hunt down Assad loyalists. The fighting has also killed 231 members of the security forces and 250 pro-Assad fighters,

Syrian leader Ahmed Sharaa scrambled on Sunday (March 9) to contain some of the deadliest violence in 13 years of civil war, pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country's new Islamist rulers.

Syria’s leader vows to hunt those behind clashes with Assad loyalists and his Islamist government:: March 9, 2025:: Damascus, Syria:: Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrian Interim President"We find ourselves facing a new danger represented by the attempts of the remnants of the former regime and the external parties behind them to create a new sedition and drag our country into a civil war,

Syria's new leader has vowed accountability and an investigation after reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians triggered an international backlash against the worst violence since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.