Syria's Sharaa urges insurgents loyal to Assad to surrender after deadly clashes

DAMASCUS — Syria's leader Ahmed Al Sharaa on Friday urged insurgents loyal to ousted president Bashar Al Assad to lay down their arms and surrender after the fiercest attacks the the war-torn country has yet seen. 

"You attacked all Syrians and made an unforgivable mistake. The riposte has come, and you have not been able to withstand it," Sharaa said in a speech broadcast on Telegram by the Syrian presidency. 

"Lay down your weapons and surrender before it's too late." 

Restoring security has been one of the most complex tasks for Syria's new authorities, installed after Islamist-led forces ousted Assad in a lightning offensive in December.

The clashes that broke out on Thursday were the fiercest since Assad was toppled in a lightning rebel offensive in December, and came after days of tensions in Latakia province that forms part of the heartland of the religious minority.

In his Friday address, Sharaa, who headed the coalition that forced out Assad, also vowed to keep working towards "monopolising weapons in the hands of the state".

"There will be no more unregulated weapons," he pledged.

Western powers and Syria's neighbours have emphasised the need for unity in the new Syria, which is seeking funds for reconstructing a nation ravaged by years of war under Assad.

‘Premeditated' 

The United Nations envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, decried "very troubling reports of civilian casualties".

He called on all sides to refrain from actions which could "destabilise Syria, and jeopardise a credible and inclusive political transition".

An interior ministry source quoted by official news agency SANA said isolated incidents had occurred on the coast and pledged to put a stop to them.

Authorities launched a sweeping security operation after Thursday's clashes, which the Observatory said left 78 people dead, including gunmen, security force members and civilians.

Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, said pro-Assad militia fighters carried out "a well-planned and premeditated attack" on government forces' positions and patrols around the coastal town of Jableh.

Curfews 

A curfew was imposed until Saturday in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, heartland of the ousted president's Alawite religious minority, and authorities on Friday announced a security sweep in the Jableh area, between the two provinces.

Officials blamed "sabotage" for a power outage that affected much of Latakia province.

A curfew has also been imposed in Syria's confessionally divided third city Homs.

The security operation "targeted remnants of Assad's militias and those who supported them", an official cited by SANA said, as he called on civilians to stay in their homes.

"All night, we heard the sounds of gunfire and explosions," said Ali, a farmer living in Jableh, describing the urban battles in his area.

"Everyone's afraid... we are trapped at home and we can't go out."

‘Under attack' 

Forces led by Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham launched the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, when he fled to Russia with his family.

Syria's new security forces have since carried out extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey have reaffirmed their support for the new authorities.

Germany meanwhile urged Syria's authorities to avoid a "spiral of violence".

The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday readmitted Syria, which was suspended in 2012, early in the civil war under Assad, following the long-time ruler's toppling.

"This decision represents an important step towards Syria's return to the regional and international communities as a free and just state," a Syrian foreign ministry statement said.