GENEVA — The United Nations rights chief demanded on Friday that Syria's interim authorities ensure accountability after days of deadly clashes in the southern city of Sweida that reportedly left hundreds dead.

 

"This bloodshed and the violence must stop and the protection of all people must be the utmost priority," Volker Turk said in a statement.

 

He demanded "independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations" adding: "Those responsible must be held to account."

 

"It is crucial that immediate steps are taken to prevent recurrence of such violence," he said.

 

"Revenge and vengeance are not the answer."

 

His comments came after Syrian troops pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on Thursday on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of clashes that reportedly killed nearly 600 people.

 

The southern province has been gripped by deadly sectarian bloodshed since Sunday;

 

Hundreds have reportedly been killed in clashes pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes and the army and its allies.

 

Israel had meanwhile hammered government troops with air strikes in Sweida and also struck targets in and around the capital Damascus, including the military headquarters.

 

It said its attacks would intensify until the government pulled back.

 

'Attacks must cease'

 

Turk's statement cited credible reports indicating "widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property and looting of homes".

 

"Among the reported perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim authorities, as well as other armed elements from the area, including Druze and Bedouins," the statement said.

 

This had sparked "mass displacement", it said.

 

It highlighted one incident on July 15, when the UN rights office documented the "unlawful killing of at least 13 people when armed individuals affiliated with the interim authorities deliberately opened fire at a family gathering".

 

On the same day, such individuals also reportedly summarily executed six men near their homes in two separate incidents, it said.

 

"The deployment of state security forces should bring safety and protection, not add to the fear and violence," Turk said.

 

He also raised concerns over reported civilian casualties resulting from Israel's airstrikes on Sweida, Daraa and in central Damascus.

 

"Attacks such as the one on Damascus on Wednesday pose great risks to civilians and civilian objects," Turk said, insisting: "Such attacks must cease."

 

The UN rights chief also urged Syria's interim authorities to publish results of an investigation into violence in coastal areas earlier this year.

 

More than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians were killed in their heartland on the Mediterranean coast in March, with government-affiliated groups blamed for most of the deaths.

 

"Impartial and thorough investigations into the recent violence would also strengthen the ongoing wider transitional justice process to ensure accountability for past violations and abuses," Turk said.

 

"Syrians deserve truth, accountability and guarantees that such violations will not be repeated."

 

Turk stressed that the fall of longtime president Bashar al-Assad in December had brought the Syria people "a moment of hope for a better future based on human right".

 

"It is the responsibility of the interim authorities to demonstrate that this chapter will be defined by rights, justice and equal protection for all."