ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reaffirmed his country’s support for Syria’s Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in the face of recent clashes with loyalists of the ousted regime.

Deadly clashes broke out between security forces of the new Damascus authorities and loyalists of Syria’s ousted president Bashar al-Assad in the country’s western coastal regions on Thursday. The attack by the loyalists prompted a violent response from the authorities, with over 1,000 civilians, accused of siding with the insurgents, reportedly killed.

The incident sparked reactions from the regional and international communities, with Iraq, Iran, the US, and the UN condemning the killing of civilians.

Erdogan, however, took to the podium on Monday evening in support of Sharaa’s administration, saying that they “welcome President Sharaa’s moderate and calming stance, as well as his firm messages that those who act outside the law will be punished.”

Speaking after a meeting of his cabinet on Monday, Erdogan reaffirmed that they will continue to provide “every kind of support possible” for Syria to recover and preserve its territorial integrity, condemning “all attacks, acts of terrorism and intimidation that target Syria's unity, stability, and social peace.”

“Those who remained silent for 14 years while innocent children were being killed… cannot lecture us now on morality,” said Erdogan, referring to the Assad loyalists.

Sharaa on Sunday vowed that they “will hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who was involved in the bloodshed of civilians... or who overstepped the powers of the state," while the presidency issued a decree for the formation of a committee to probe the “violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them."

Four days after the beginning of the altercations, the Syrian defense ministry on Monday announced the end of its operations along the western coast of the country.