EU Extends Invitation to Syria’s HTS Regime for Brussels Talks Amid Ongoing Atrocities

In a significant development concerning Syria’s political landscape, European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper announced during a daily press briefing that an invitation was extended to HTS Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani for the upcoming donor conference scheduled for March 17. This pivotal event, titled ‘Standing with Syria: Meeting the Needs for a Successful Transition’, marks a crucial moment as it will be the first conference organized by the EU since the ousting of the Assad administration in December.

Hipper emphasized that this conference represents a “very important occasion” for engaging with the new rulers of Syria. However, the context surrounding this event is marked by grave concerns over human rights violations in the country.

In recent weeks, HTS-led forces have been implicated in numerous atrocities, particularly against minority groups, including the Alawites, in Syria’s northwestern coastal region. According to reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the violence has led to the deaths of over 1,540 individuals, predominantly civilians, in provinces such as Tartus, Latakia, Hama, and Homs.

Human rights organizations and the international community have issued strong rebukes against these massacres. Key points of concern include:

• Immediate cessation of ethnic cleansing and sectarian-based violence in Syria.
• Establishment of an independent international investigation committee under the auspices of the United Nations.

Despite these calls for action, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas refrained from outright condemning the actions of HTS militants. She remarked, “It is very, very early to tell whether this goes in the right direction. The first signals are good, but we are not rushing into any kind of arrangements yet, if we don’t have certainty,” while expressing concern over the potential for sectarian violence and a resurgence of extremism in Syria.

Earlier this month, the United Kingdom made headlines by removing 24 Syrian entities from the sanctions list that had been imposed during the Assad administration. Additionally, the European Union has suspended various sanctions against Syria, particularly in sectors crucial for the country’s financial stability, such as energy, transportation, and finance.

However, violence has escalated under HTS rule, with reports of hundreds of kidnappings and extra-judicial killings since the fall of the Assad government on December 8, 2024. Most victims of these abductions and killings belong to the Alawite minority, as cycles of revenge continue to unfold within the nation.

Despite HTS’s claims to uphold the rights of all sects and religions in Syria, these assertions were starkly contradicted last week when a series of massacres targeting Syrian Alawites were reported. Notably, the HTS administration in Damascus appears to be focusing its efforts away from confronting Israeli forces, located just 20 kilometers from the capital, and is instead directing its aggression towards the Alawite community.

This community suffers from a range of brutal tactics, including:

• Abductions, often occurring in groups of five to ten individuals per day.
• Executions and home invasions.
• Forced humiliation, such as being ordered to bark like dogs.

While HTS has justified its violent operations as targeting the “remnants of the old regime,” the military crackdown that commenced in early March has devolved into open massacres of civilians. SOHR reported that on March 10 alone, at least 973 Alawite civilians were killed, underscoring the severity of the situation.

As the international community watches closely, the donor conference on March 17 will serve as a litmus test for how the EU intends to engage with the new Syrian leadership amidst these ongoing human rights abuses. The future of Syria remains uncertain, with the need for a comprehensive and effective response to the escalating violence and humanitarian crisis becoming increasingly urgent.

As discussions continue, the world awaits the outcomes of this important conference and the potential implications for both the Syrian populace and broader regional stability.