SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
In Syria, hundreds of people, many believed to be civilians, are dead in what are believed to be revenge killings by armed fighters. Those fighters rushed into coastal communities after an earlier ambush of government forces by other gunmen loyal to the former regime. This is all the biggest challenge to the new Syrian government since it took power last December. NPR's Jane Arraf joins us from Damascus with the latest. Hi, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: We're talking about attacks and counterattacks and retaliatory attacks. Walk us through what all is happening here.
ARRAF: So this took place on Syria's Mediterranean coast in the provinces of Latakia and Tartus, and those are a traditional base of support for former President Bashar al-Assad, who fled the country in December. There was an ambush of government forces on Thursday, and then government rushed in reinforcements, and then other armed groups joined in. Many of those were Sunni Islamist militant groups. The targets of what appear to be revenge killings are mostly members of the Alawite minority. That's an offshoot of Shia Islam that al-Assad belonged to. And, Scott, the numbers are unknown. It's really hard to verify, but human rights monitoring groups say there are hundreds of victims, and it is being called a massacre.
DETROW: Wow. How is the government responding?
ARRAF: Well Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed Syrians.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT AHMED AL-SHARAA: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: He told former regime fighters to give up before it's too late, and he pledged to put all weapons in the hands of the state. Today, government forces sealed off some of those communities and said they were restoring order. They called the killings individual actions rather than connected to the government, but Alawites and other minorities don't believe it.
DETROW: I mean, Jane, the people who had been in charge of Syria for decades have suddenly been deposed in recent ones. This is a tentative new government. How serious is all of this?
ARRAF: It is really serious. It's the biggest threat to the new Syrian government since it took power. I mean, al-Sharaa is trying to knit together a multisectarian, multiethnic country, very heavily armed, lots of different groups, and he needs to unify security forces. There's a vacuum at the moment. There aren't enough of them. The country is struggling with sanctions. There's no police force or army. There's no money to pay them. It's a big, big, big problem.
DETROW: How are Syrians in other parts of the country responding to this?
ARRAF: Well, Syria is emerging from 12 years of civil war under the old regime, and the fears, of course, are that this could spiral into civil war again. There are also deep concerns that other countries could be brought in - Iraqi militias to protect Alawites. Israel has said it will protect the Druze minority. And in Suwayda today, the Druze heartland, we met the commander of the new Suwayda military council coalition of fighters. Tariq al-Shoufi told us they believe that after the Alawites, the Druze will be the next targets.
TARIQ AL-SHOUFI: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: He said, "once they finish on the coast, they will come for the Druze. The threats are clear." And he said they would accept help from Israel or any other country. So after that, we went to a meeting of men from surrounding villages where the commander told them they were taking volunteers to uphold the dignity of the Druze and protect their land, and it ended with a traditional Druze dance.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
ARRAF: Now, this is a dance that's done at celebrations and other significant events, but this time it felt very much like a war cry.
DETROW: That is NPR's Jane Arraf. Thank you so much.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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