US envoy urges Syria's Sharaa to revise policy or risk fragmentation

By Samia Nakhoul and Maya Gebeily

BEIRUT (Reuters) -A U.S. envoy has urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support and fragmenting the country.

U.S. envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack said he had advised Sharaa in private discussions to revisit elements of the pre-war army structure, scale back Islamist indoctrination and seek regional security assistance.

In an interview in Beirut, Barrack told Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power.

Sharaa should say: "I'm going to adapt quickly, because if I don't adapt quickly, I'm going to lose the energy of the universe that was behind me," Barrack said. He said Sharaa could "grow up as a president and say, 'the right thing for me to do is not to follow my theme, which isn't working so well.'"

Sharaa, leader of a former Al Qaeda offshoot, came to power in Syria after guerilla fighters he led brought down President Bashar al-Assad in December last year after more than 13 years of civil war.

Though his own fighters have roots in Sunni Muslim militancy, Sharaa has promised to protect members of Syria's many sectarian minorities. But that pledge has been challenged, first by mass killings of members of Assad's Alawite sect in March, and now by the latest violence in the southwest.

Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and Sharaa's own forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killing of Druze by government forces.

Barrack said the new government should consider being "more inclusive quicker" when it comes to integrating minorities into the ruling structure.

But he also pushed back against reports that Syrian security forces were responsible for violations against Druze civilians. He suggested that Islamic State group militants may have been disguised in government uniforms and that social media videos are easily doctored and therefore unreliable.

"The Syrian troops haven't gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They're not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in," he said.

'NO SUCCESSOR' TO SHARAA

The U.S. helped broker a ceasefire last week that brought an end to the fighting, which erupted between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions on July 13.

Barrack said the stakes in Syria are dangerously high, with no succession plan or viable alternative to the country's new Islamist government.

"With this Syrian regime, there is no plan B. If this Syrian regime fails, somebody is trying to instigate it to fail," Barrack said. "For what purpose? There's no successor."

Asked if Syria could follow the dire scenarios of Libya and Afghanistan, he said: "Yes, or even worse."

The U.S. has said it did not support Israel's airstrikes on Syria. Barrack said the strikes had added to the "confusion" in Syria.

Israel says Syria's new rulers are dangerous militants, and has vowed to keep government troops out of the southwest and protect Syria's Druze minority in the area, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze community.

Barrack said his message to Israel is to have dialogue to alleviate their concerns about Syria's new Sunni leaders and that the U.S. could play the role of an "honest intermediary" to help resolve any concerns.

He said Sharaa had signaled from the beginning of his rule that Israel was not his enemy and that he could normalise ties in due time.

He said the United States was not dictating what the political format of Syria should be, other than stability, unity, fairness and inclusion.

"If they end up with a federalist government, that's their determination. And the answer to the question is, everybody may now need to adapt."

(Editing by Peter Graff)