The ouster of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was meant to usher in a time of renewed calm in Syria, coming as it did after a bloody civil war. Some Syrians are still upbeat about their chances. Minorities, not so much.
Whether they’re religious or ethnic minorities, multiple communities in Syria are under growing threat, and at times overt attack. So far this year there have been two high-profile massacres, targeting the Druze and the Alawites. Even more galling, government security forces participated in both.
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) are now in power, and while they present the idea of a united Syria, in practice they and their allies continue to persecute minority groups with virtual impunity. The Alawite massacre, which got the most international attention, “ended” with a promise of an investigation that still has yet to produce any meaningful action for security forces participating in it. Meanwhile, the government continues to expel Alawites from their homes and gunmen kill Alawite civilians knowing there will be no accountability.
A threatening message written on St. Elias church in Maared Saidnaya | Image from X
Other groups aren’t immune either. The Kurdish minority in the northeast has been excluded from representation in the government in large measure, and while there is talk of integrating them into the military, many are still highly distrustful of the process.
And while the HTS tries to cozy up to the Western world, Syria’s Christian community is not immune from the attacks. In June a large-scale bombing against St. Elias church in Dweila, Damascus killed at least 27, and now threatening signs are being left on yet more Damascus churches.
One of the messages, left on St. Elias church in Maared Saidnaya just a bit northeast of Damascus, ominously warning “after St Elias Dweila, it’s St Elias Maared’s turn.” Another message was left on the St. Cyrillos church in Damascus itself, written on the walls declaring “Our meeting is near, you pigs of the cross.”
Alawite and Christian groups were pressing President Trump to hold HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable for protecting Syria’s minorities. Sharaa suggested that President Trump didn’t bring up his past as a key al-Qaeda figure during in the meeting, and nor does he appear to have pressed Sharaa on much of anything, with all indications that the meeting was a friendly one, focused on lifting Assad-era sanctions.
