Syria in a dangerous spiral, Al-Sharaa: Those who killed people will be punished mercilessly

Syria has entered a spiral of crisis, but its leader vowed to pursue and punish the perpetrators of the bloody fighting initiated by loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad against the country's new Islamist rulers, writes A2 CNN.

In an interview with the international news agency Reuters, he said he would hold anyone who exceeded their authority accountable. In a speech broadcast on national television and posted on social media, Ahmed Sharaa, whose rebel movement toppled Assad in December, accused Assad loyalists and unnamed foreign powers of trying to foment unrest.

"We find ourselves facing a new danger, represented by the efforts of the remnants of the former regime and the external parties behind them to create a new rebellion and drag our country into a civil war, aiming to divide it and destroy its unity and stability. We confirm that we will hold accountable, with all determination and without mercy, anyone who was involved in the bloodshed of civilians or harmed our people, or who exceeded the powers of the state or exploited power to achieve their goals," Al-Sharaa said.

The fighting, which a war monitoring group said had already killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, continued for a fourth day in Assad’s area of ​​influence. The top commander of a Syrian Kurdish armed group, whose forces are in a separate battle with Turkey, blamed Turkish-backed Islamist factions for some of the most troubling violence: the reported executions of civilians belonging to Assad’s Alawite sect.

Turkey did not respond to the accusations. At the United Nations in New York, diplomats said the United States and Russia have asked the Security Council to meet behind closed doors on Monday over the escalation of violence in Syria. The office of interim President Sharaa said it was forming an independent committee to investigate the clashes and killings by both sides. Syrians have released graphic videos of executions by fighters. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos. (A2 Televizion)