Christians and other religious minorities in Syria are sounding the alarm as more than 1,000 people have been killed since last Thursday in what rights groups describe as some of the worst atrocities since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December.
The violence, centered in Syria’s coastal regions, has primarily targeted Alawites, Christians and other minority communities, GB News reported, explaining that tensions escalated after an ambush on a security patrol near Latakia by gunmen loyal to Assad. This triggered a severe response from forces linked to Syria’s Islamist-led interim government.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 745 of the dead were civilians, many of whom were killed in shootings. Hundreds of others were members of security forces or militants.
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Witnesses and local monitors cited in media described the unfolding events as “sectarian massacres.”
Rami Abdulrahman, director of the SOHR, said the violence aims to expel Alawite families from their homes, with many residences looted and burned in the cities of Jableh and Baniyas. The Alawites were closely associated with Assad’s regime.
Videos and reports from the region depict harrowing scenes of mass graves, bound bodies and devastated villages. In one instance, 69 Alawite civilians were reportedly executed during a security sweep.
Thousands of Alawites and Christians have fled their homes, with hundreds seeking refuge at the Russian military base in Hmeimim in Latakia.
The Christian community had already dwindled during Syria’s decade-long civil war. Christians are seen by Islamist factions as politically and ideologically aligned with the former regime and as obstacles to the establishment of an Islamist-led government. While reports suggest Christians have also been targeted in the violence, it is unclear how many Christians have been killed.
Patriarchs from the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches issued a joint statement condemning the violence.
“Homes have been violated, their sanctity disregarded, and properties looted — scenes that starkly reflect the immense suffering endured by the Syrian people,” the joint statement reads. “The Christian Churches while strongly condemning any act that threatens civil peace, denounce and condemn the massacres targeting innocent civilians, and call for an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values.”
“The Churches also call for the swift creation of conditions conducive to achieving national reconciliation among the Syrian people,” the added. “They urge efforts to establish an environment that facilitates the transition to a state that respects all its citizens and lays the foundation for a society based on equal citizenship and genuine partnership, free from the logic of vengeance and exclusion.”
Martin Parsons, CEO of The Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution, told Premier Christian News that while the coastal region is the “Assad heartland” with a heavy presence of Alawites, Christians lived there too.
“There was fighting between government fighters and this insurgency, which is led by a former Brigadier in Assad’s forces and large numbers of Alawites and Christians fled,” Parson stated. “We also know that there were targeted attacks on civilians.”
“The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Damascus said on Saturday in a sermon that some of those killed included Christians but that’s the most detail that we’ve actually got at the moment,” he added. “We need to be very cautious because all we know is that there appear to have been some Christians killed. We don’t know why they were killed. Were they caught up in it? Were they killed because they were Assad loyalists, or was it a question of them being targeted because of their religion, or both? We just don’t know at the moment.”
The Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, warned that sectarian violence would engulf all of Syria if not addressed.
Rights groups, including the Syrian Network for Human Rights, have documented mass executions, looted properties and systematic killings.
The interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and also known as Jolani, has condemned the violence and called for accountability.
In a televised address, he urged restraint from security forces, saying there was a need to uphold moral values even in the face of conflict. Sharaa has reportedly established a committee to investigate the killings, pledging to punish those responsible for harming civilians or violating human rights.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned “radical Islamist terrorists” and expressed solidarity with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities. He urged the interim government to protect minorities and civilians.
Meanwhile, Israel has blamed Syria’s new rulers for the massacres, accusing them of perpetrating barbaric acts against civilians.
The roots of the current crisis lie in Syria’s fragile transition following Assad downfall.
Sharaa’s interim government, while promising inclusivity, has struggled to assert control over various armed factions. Hardline jihadist groups and irregular militias operate with limited oversight, undermining efforts to centralize security and prevent violence.
Many fear that the interim government’s inability to protect minorities will lead to further sectarian bloodshed.
Meanwhile, Russia, which maintains a military presence in Syria, has reportedly provided refuge to displaced civilians but has refrained from intervening directly in the conflict.
