More than 1,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the past week in
Syria. The BBC reported that a UK-based monitor has identified that “830 civilians were killed in ‘massacres’ targeting Alawites on the west coast on Friday and Saturday.”
The Alawites are an ethnoreligious group in the region of the Middle East that includes Syria. Former President Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite, as was his father, so many people associate Alawites with the brutal dictatorship that ruled Syria for more than 50 years. The recent violence began with pro-Assad forces attacked soldiers associated with the new government of Syria. Reciprocal attacks began and it seems that civilians have been heavily targeted.
Much of the ongoing fighting has been between the security forces of the new government and militia loyal to former President Assad and country’s previous regime. Some of the death toll accounts for soldiers on both sides of the fighting. The Syrian government has said that its operation has now ended, so there are hopes that the worst of the violence is over.
In the midst of the chaos, misinformation has spread like wildfire. On social media, false reports of targeted attacks on Christians spread and were picked up by many in the West. However, Open Doors sources have only been able to confirm the tragic deaths of five believers during this latest unrest. A Christian father and a son were killed (probably on March 6) after they were stopped on the road. When they showed their identity cards and said they were Christians, the perpetrators didn't believe them and shot them. On March 7, another Christian died in his house when he was hit by a bullet that likely was a stray shot during the fighting. A young Christian in his thirties was killed, most likely because he was part of the army of the old regime. And finally, an elderly Christian man was killed when he tried to stop extremists from killing Alawites.
Although so far the violence doesn’t seem to be targeting Syrian Christians, followers of Jesus are scared in the midst of the violence. On Sunday, March 9, many churches didn't hold their Sunday services. One Christian from the area says she is afraid that a period of revenge and terror might start. In cities like Latakia and Tartous, many shops and almost all restaurants are closed.
The violence reminds the many traumatized Syrians of the horrifying times during the atrocities of ISIS: “All Christians I know now want to leave the country,” says an Open Doors source in Syria’s Mediterranean area.
Church leaders respond On March 8, three leaders of the biggest denominations in Syria came out with a joint statement on the violence. “In recent days, Syria has witnessed a dangerous escalation of violence, brutality and killings, resulting in attacks on innocent civilians, including women and children,” they wrote. “Homes have been violated, their sanctity disregarded and properties looted—scenes that starkly reflect the immense suffering endured by the Syrian people.
“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 church also called for national reconciliation and unity in Syria. The statement was signed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox church and Patriarch Youssef Absi of the Melkite Greek Catholic church.
How you can pray
In a press release, Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said “the killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease, immediately.”
The statement continued: “Following a series of coordinated attacks reportedly launched by elements of the former government and other local armed men, we are receiving extremely disturbing reports of entire families, including women, children and hors de combat fighters, being killed,” he said. “There are reports of summary executions on a sectarian basis by unidentified perpetrators, by members of the caretaker authorities’ security forces, as well as by elements associated with the former government.”
Türk calls for “prompt, transparent and impartial investigations into all the killings and other violations, and those responsible must be held to account, in line with international law norms and standards. Groups terrorizing civilians must also be held accountable.”
Open Doors calls for prayer for the situation in Syria. Please pray that the recent violence won’t be the starting point of another civil war in a country that has suffered so much in the past 14 years. Pray that justice will be done and pray that the killing of innocent people will stop. Pray also for the protection of our brothers and sisters in Syria; in the cities of Tartous and Latakia and surrounding villages, there are numerous Christian communities. Pray that this won’t lead to yet another exodus of Christians from Syria.
Join in prayer:
- Please pray that the recent violence won’t be the starting point of another civil war in a country that has suffered so much in the past 14 years.
- Pray that justice will be done and pray that the killing of innocent people will stop.
- Pray also for the protection of our brothers and sisters in Syria; in the cities of Tartous and Latakia and surrounding villages, there are numerous Christian communities.
- Pray that this won’t lead to yet another exodus of Christians from Syria.
