United Nations Committee: Violations in the Syrian Coast May Be Classified as "War Crimes".. and Confirms Involvement of All Parties

The United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on Syria confirmed in a report released on Thursday that the violations and acts of violence witnessed in the Syrian coastal region during the month of March may "amount to war crimes," noting the involvement of all parties in the events that shook the predominantly Alawite region.

The commission called on the Syrian government to strengthen its efforts in the field of legal accountability, especially after the Syrian National Investigation Commission _which was previously formed to investigate the events_ revealed "widespread but unorganized violations," identifying 298 suspects involved.

Yasser Al-Farhan, the official spokesperson for the National Commission, reported that investigations confirmed the death of 1,469 people, including 90 women, and that civilians were subjected to serious violations on March 7 and 8. He emphasized that "the sectarian motives for the violations were retaliatory rather than ideological," pointing out that "government forces attempted to limit the chaos on March 7."

Al-Farhan also revealed the involvement of remnants of the previous regime in an attempt to separate the Syrian coast and establish an "Alawite state," with 265 potential suspects identified in this case.

It is noteworthy that the coastal areas (Latakia, Tartus, and Baniyas) witnessed bloody violence on March 6 that affected civilians and security forces, where the government accused armed groups loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad of carrying out attacks against its forces, while security personnel were accused of committing violations against civilians.

The Syrian presidency had formed on March 9 the "Independent National Commission for Investigation and Fact-Finding in the Coastal Events," which included legal and human rights experts to investigate the events.