Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Shara said on Sunday that mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect posed a threat to his mission to unify the country and vowed to punish those responsible, including his own allies if necessary.
In his first interview with a global news agency after hundreds of people died in four days of clashes between Alawite Muslims and Syria's new Sunni Islamist authorities, Shaara accused foreign-backed pro-Assad groups of causing the bloodshed, but acknowledged that revenge killings had also followed.
"Syria is a country of law. The law will apply to everyone," he told Reuters from the presidential palace in Damascus, where Assad resided until rebel forces ousted him on December 8, forcing him to flee to Moscow.
"We fought to protect the oppressed and we will not accept that blood be shed unjustly and with impunity, even among those closest to us," said Šara.
In a wide-ranging interview, Shaara said his government has had no contact with the United States since Donald Trump took office. He reiterated calls for Washington to lift sanctions imposed during the Assad era.
He also left open the possibility of rebuilding relations with Moscow, which was a key ally of Assad during the war and now seeks to maintain two major military bases in Syria.
He rejected criticism from Israel, which has seized territory in southern Syria since Assad's ouster. He also announced efforts to resolve differences with the Kurds, including meeting with the leader of a Kurdish group long supported by Washington.
While he blamed the outbreak of violence in recent days on a former military unit loyal to Assad's brother and an unnamed foreign force, he acknowledged that "many parties have entered the Syrian coast and many violations of the law have occurred."
"It became an opportunity for revenge" because of years of built-up resentment, he said, but added that the situation had largely been brought under control.
Sharara said 200 members of the security forces were killed in the unrest, but declined to give a total number of deaths before the completion of the investigation, which will be conducted by an independent committee announced on Sunday, ahead of his interview.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that as many as 973 Alawite civilians had been killed in revenge attacks by Sunday evening, following fighting in which more than 250 Alawite fighters and over 230 members of the Syrian security forces were killed.
'My chest feels tight in this palace'
After years in the field as the leader of a guerrilla movement that broke away from al-Qaeda, the 42-year-old son of an Arab nationalist was calm and spoke in a near-whisper during the interview, which took place at midnight on Monday, during the holy month of Ramadan, when business meetings often run late.
His entourage of young, bearded men seemed even more at ease in the luxurious seat of power.
"To be honest, my chest tightens in this palace. I'm amazed at how much evil against society emanates from every corner of it," said Shara.
The unrest of recent days, the deadliest since Assad's overthrow, has posed his biggest challenge in his efforts to gain international legitimacy, fully lift US and Western sanctions and consolidate power in a country divided by 14 years of war.
His forces entered the capital promising rule for all of Syria's communities – Sunnis, Alawites, Druze, Christians, Shiites, Kurds and Armenians – while seeking to assuage domestic and foreign fears over his extremist Islamist past.
He quickly began receiving foreign officials and, along with close associates, toured the region seeking support. But three months after Assad's overthrow, the initial euphoria gave way to concerns about the enormous challenges at home.
The economy is in ruins, large parts of the country, including the oil-rich northeast, remain outside state control, and Israel is increasingly using a threatening tone, backed by airstrikes and military incursions.
Sharara acknowledged that the violence could jeopardize his attempt to unify the country.
"It will have an impact on this time," he said, but promised to "rectify the situation as best we can."
To achieve this, Sharrah established an independent committee – the first body he formed and in which Alawites were represented – to investigate the killings within 30 days and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The second committee was formed "to preserve civil peace and reconciliation, because blood begets more blood," he added.
Sharrah declined to answer questions about whether foreign jihadist fighters and other Islamist factions, as well as his security forces, were involved in the mass killings, saying those were matters for investigation.
Syrians have shared shocking footage of the executions on social media, some of which Reuters has confirmed are authentic, including a video showing at least 20 dead men in one town. Shaara said an investigative commission would examine the footage.
The killings have rocked Syria's coastal cities, such as Latakia, Baniyas and Jableh, forcing thousands of Alawites to flee to mountain villages or cross the border into Lebanon.
Shaaraa stated that security and economic prosperity are directly linked to the lifting of US sanctions imposed against Assad.
"We cannot establish security in the country while sanctions are still in force against us."
However, there has been no direct contact with the Trump administration so far, which remains skeptical due to Shaara's former association with al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, negotiations with Moscow on its military presence in Syria are ongoing. Sharrah said Damascus and Moscow are reviewing all previous agreements, but there has not yet been time for details.
He declined to confirm whether he had asked Moscow to extradite Assad.
Relations with Russia are so crucial that "we tolerated Russian bombing and did not attack them directly in order to leave room for meetings and dialogue after liberation," he said.
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