Syria’s leader vowed on Sunday to hunt down the perpetrators of violent clashes pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country’s new Islamist rulers and said he would hold to account anyone who overstepped their authority.

The clashes, which a war monitoring group said had already killed over 1,000 people, mostly civilians, continued for a fourth day in Assad’s coastal heartland.

In a speech broadcast on national television and posted on social media, Ahmed Sharaa, whose rebel movement toppled Assad in December, accused Assad loyalists and foreign powers that he did not name of trying to foment unrest.

“Today, as we stand at this critical moment, we find ourselves facing a new danger – attempts by remnants of the former regime and their foreign backers to incite new strife and drag our country into a civil war, aiming to divide it and destroy its unity and stability,” he said.

The top commander of a Syrian Kurdish armed group, whose forces are in a separate battle with Turkey, had earlier blamed Turkish-backed Islamist factions for some of the most disturbing violence: the reported executions of civilians belonging to Assad’s Alawite sect. Turkey did not immediately respond to the allegation.

At the United Nations in New York, diplomats said the United States and Russia have asked the Security Council to meet behind closed doors on Monday over the escalating violence in Syria.

Interim President Sharaa’s office said it was forming an independent committee to investigate the clashes and killings by both sides. Syrians have circulated graphic videos of executions by fighters. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.

“We will hold accountable, with full decisiveness, anyone who is involved in the bloodshed of civilians, mistreats civilians, exceeds the state’s authority or exploits power for personal gain. No one will be above the law,” Sharaa added in the video speech after earlier calling for national unity. 

–Reuters