Syria: Christians worry for their lives after Alawite ‘massacre’

Christians are living in fear after upwards of 1000 deaths following a wave of sectarian violence amid clashes between pro-government troops and opposing armed groups, according to The Arab Weekly.

The wave of violence erupted in Syria’s Alawite heartland on the coast on 6th March.

What later transpired has been described as a ‘massacre’ in which members of Assad’s Alawite minority were targeted.

This led to 10,000 Alawites crossing into Lebanon in the days that followed.

However, with reports of Christians being caught in the crosshairs, there are claims that no one is protecting Syria’s small Christian community.

Ruwayda, a 36-year-old Christian from the port city of Latakia, said “The current conflict in Syria does not concern me, but we are its victims”

In a Damascus sermon on Sunday, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, John X, said, “Many innocent Christians were also killed” alongside Alawites.

Obituaries released on social media show several members of the small Christian community on the coast.

At least seven of these were victims, including a mana man and his son who were shot on their way to Latakia.

Social media videos have also spread panic, with one showing a fighter speaking in a non-Syrian Arabic dialect threatening Christians as well as Alawites.

One Christian resident of Latakia, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, said he and his neighbours “have been staying at home since the start of the escalation with the doors locked for fear that foreign fighters might enter”.

Analyst Fabrice Balanche said that before the war began in 2011, Syria had about one million Christians or about five per cent of the population.

He said that number shrank to about 300,000 after the majority fled during the civil war.

The Arab Weekly