Source: www.worthynews.com
Date: December 9, 2024
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/JERUSALEM/DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – There was mounting concern Sunday about Syria’s Christian minority after Islamic rebels captured the capital, Damascus, forcing longtime autocratic President Bashar al-Assad to flee the nation.
Russia, which had been backing him militarily, confirmed he had left the country, and Moscow was expected to give him protection.
While especially evangelical Christians and former Muslims-turned-Christians reported persecution under Assad, there were concerns their situation could worsen under Islamic rebels with ties to Islamic State and other extreme anti-Christian groups.
The sudden, unexpected turn of events came after Moscow was unable to back Assad’s government with more troops as it was focused on its war against Ukraine.
At the same Syria’s longtime ally Iran was heading for the exits, evacuating its military commanders and personnel, as well as some diplomatic staff, after Israel attacked several of its proxies and senior military officials.
With Syria rapidly falling under the rebels’ control, neighboring Israel’s military issued a warning to five towns in southern Syria, calling on residents to stay at home “until further notice” due to ongoing combat in the area. The towns are Ofaniya, Quneitra, al-Hamidiyah, western Samadanis, and Qahtaini.
“The fighting inside your area is forcing the IDF to act, and we do not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must stay at home and not go out until further notice,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in Arabic on social media platform X.
DIFFICULT CHRISTMAS
As fighting continued, Christian communities prepared for Christmas amid lingering uncertainties. That has already become clear in Aleppo, the strategically important and symbolic central city that was among the first areas to fall into rebel hands.
Christian aid workers said Sunday Islamic fighters had imposed Sharia, a strict interpretation of Islam, in the area, where devoted Christians fear for their lives.
Video footage seen by Worthy News purportedly showed an Islamic leader declaring Sharia in Aleppo as a group of people watched solemnly nearby.
“The AlQaeda/ISIS terrorists in Syria have officially announced the implementation of Sharia Law outside Aleppo’s Judicial Palace,” said the Iraqi Christian Foundation, which supports Christians in the area.
The group published the Sharia video on the social media platform X. Worthy News could not immediately confirm its authenticity.
“May God help the Christians of Syria and destroy all who helped make this happen!” the Iraqi Christian Foundation added. Not all Bible-believing Christians agree with this approach, referring to Bible verse Matthew 5:43–44: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
However, if Sharia is implemented, it would be another setback for Christians in Aleppo after the Russian military bombed a Christian school there last week, several sources confirmed.
FRANCISCAN COMPLEX
The Franciscan complex of the Holy Land College in Aleppo was “heavily damaged” in the raid, the Catholic Church confirmed. Although there were no confirmed victims in the December 1 raid, Italy summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident, Worthy News learned.
Vatican sources said the college is located in an inner section of the monastery near the church, where Mass was scheduled to be celebrated later that evening.
The Iraqi Christian Foundation earlier said that Islamic rebels had been seen beheading government soldiers.
However, those reports could not be independently verified.
One video purportedly showing a beheading of a Syrian man in military fatigue that was widely circulated on social media in recent days dated back to at least 2020, Worthy News learned. The location and context weren’t apparent.
Yet numerous sources confirmed that at least hundreds of people are known to have died in the clashes leading up to Sunday’s ousting of President Assad.
Among those killed in recent fighting are Christians such as Dr. Arwant Arslanian, a Christian physician killed by sniper fire while attempting to flee Aleppo, Armenian Christians said.
FLEEING CHRISTIANS
A bus carrying young fleeing Christians was also stranded on Aleppo Road, later finding refuge at the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese, Christians said.
Despite the risks, some of the Christian community in Aleppo, estimated to number up to 30,000, began decorating Christmas trees, though Islamic fighters reportedly banned such decorations.
“Syrian Christians in Aleppo, Syria, are in grave danger from the invading demonic AlQaeda/ISIS terrorists who have already begun removing all Christmas decorations and beheading captured soldiers,” the Iraqi Christian Foundation said.
“Western media are cheering on the terrorists and calling them by the propaganda term ‘rebels.’ Please pray for our fellow Christians and other minorities in harm’s way in Syria,” the group added.
Yet Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamic offshoot of terror group al-Qaida, claimed to protect Christians with its leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani visiting Aleppo’s citadel.
In published remarks, he said, “Aleppo has always been a meeting point for civilizations and cultures, and it will remain so, with a long history of cultural and religious diversity.”
Despite these words, fears persist among Aleppo’s estimated 30,000 Christians, down from hundreds of thousands before the Syrian conflict began in 2011.
Advocacy group Christian Solidarity International (CSI) responded to the assurance given by HTS, saying, “HTS’ ideology and history give religious minorities in Aleppo serious reason to doubt these promises.”
TARGETING CHRISTIANS
HTS has often targeted Christians throughout Syria in violent attacks and kidnappings, repeatedly killing Christian civilians and confiscating their property, CSI explained.
“In the Salafist worldview that animates HTS, Christians are not heretics to be destroyed (like the Alawites and the Druzes), but ‘people of the Book’ — followers of religions that were revealed before the coming of the [Islamic] prophet Muhammad. In lands ruled by Islam, they should be made dhimmis — a protected people who are kept in legal subjugation and pay an additional tax called the jizya,” CSI added.
“But how long will HTS maintain this distinction?” CSI wondered. Similar questions were raised in the capital, Damascus, where Islamic rebels celebrated their victory over President Assad.
Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican’s ambassador, or Apostolic Nuncio in Syria, urged reconciliation. “Now the path ahead is steep—those who have taken power have promised to respect everyone and to build a new Syria. We hope they will keep these promises, but of course, the road ahead remains very difficult,” he said in comments monitored by Worthy News.
However, he suggested that the situation remains tense. “Since five o’clock this morning, I haven’t been able to sleep; I was gripped by fear because I kept hearing gunfire—constant gunfire,” he told Vatican Radio.
“Even now, there is shooting in the streets, but it’s celebratory, as is customary here. People are shooting into the air with joy because this issue, which caused so much anxiety, has been resolved. Thank God, this transition happened without bloodshed, without the carnage that was feared.”
Asked whether he fears for the future of the Christian minority, he said, “The rebels met with the bishops in Aleppo immediately after their victory, assuring them that they would respect the various religious denominations and Christians. We hope they will keep this promise and move toward reconciliation.”
RECONCILIATION WISH
Yet it will be an uphill struggle, he said. “Beyond reconciliation, we hope Syria can also find some prosperity because people have reached their limit. People were fleeing, unable to survive in the country as it had become…”
“The only desire of young people in recent years, especially in the last two years, was to escape because they saw no future in their country. Now, we hope that a door of hope may open because we witnessed hope dying—or already dead.”
The bishop urged the international community to respond “perhaps by abolishing sanctions, as they are a burden that weighs heavily on the poor. I hope that little by little, these sanctions will be lifted.”
Yet he acknowledged that much depends on whether those taking over power “keep their promise to respect and create a new Syria based on democratic principles.”
The rebels launched their lightning offensive only last week, taking the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs in quick succession before marching on Damascus.
After they took over the state broadcasters, opposition forces announced “the fall of Damascus and the end of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.”
In an address to the nation, Syria’s Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali said he would remain in his post and was ready to support the continuity of governance in the country.
ENDING DYNASTY
The HTS leader banned his forces from approaching public buildings and institutions, saying they would remain under the care of the country’s prime minister until they were officially handed over.
The fall of Damascus marked nearly half a century of rule by the Assad family and the Syrian Baath Party.
Bashar Al-Assad was first seen as a reformer when he succeeded his father, but that image was tarnished after he persecuted dissidents.
Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011 following Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests known as the “Arab Spring.”
During that period, he became associated with reported atrocities – including the use of chemical weapons on rebel strongholds.
Before the initial Syrian Civil War erupted, about 1.5 million people, 10 percent of the then-Syrian population, declared themselves Christians. The number is thought to have dropped to as few as 300,000 Christians in Syria today, according to several Christian groups.
Adding to their predicament is uncertainty over who will take over Syria as besides HTS, groups – some now in Damascus – are rebel factions that once operated under the banner of the Free Syrian Army.
KURDISH FORCES
They come from southern towns and cities with fighters who had been dormant for years but where the spark of rebellion remained.
Over to the east, Kurdish-led forces have benefited from the collapse of the Syrian army to take complete control of the main city, Deir El-Zour.
In the vast Syrian desert, remnants of the so-called Islamic State could also look to take advantage of the situation, experts say. And in the far north along the Turkish border, the Syrian National Army – backed by Ankara – is still due to prove to be a significant player in what happens next.
However, once again, civilians, including minority Christians, are caught in the middle of the latest uprising by the rebels, according to the United Nations.
The U.N. said hundreds of civilians are thought to have been killed or injured, and at least 370,000 people were displaced since the rebels started their march towards the Syrian capital on November 27.
As night fell over Damascus, questions remained when and if their brighter future would begin.