The al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces who took over Damascus in December killed hundreds of Syrian civilians over the last two days, targeting Alawites and Christians.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on March 8 that over 1,000 people, including 745 civilians, had been killed in two days of violence in the coastal region of western Syria, which is heavily populated by members of the Alawite minority. The victims include many children, women, and entire families. The exact death toll is estimated to be higher.
Christians are also increasingly affected by the ongoing violence. In the city of Latakia, HTS terrorists reportedly murdered a Christian, Tony Khoury, in his home on March 7. He was originally from the Maronite village of Dahr Safra, according to social media posts. According to local reports, on the same day, jihadist regime terrorists also murdered Greek Christians Tony Boutros and his son, Fadi Boutros.
A Christian source in Syria told europeanconservative.com:
“We are afraid that after they finish with the Alawites, they will kill us en masse. After seeing the massacres yesterday, all people here are terrified.”
Since Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Syria’s Baathist regime and assumed control this past December, religious minorities have found themselves in increased peril. A journalist working in the country told europeanconservative.com:
On February 26, a young Christian man and two Christians were stopped in Qasaa (Damascus) while returning from work. They were verbally abused and accused of lacking ‘honor’ simply for walking with a man in public. They were detained in the street for over two hours, threatened with arrest and imprisonment, and the young man repeatedly insulted. Eventually, two people intervened and told the abusers to let them go ‘this time.’ However, they were warned that if it happened again, both the man and the women would be detained and ‘properly disciplined.’
This is expected because HTS is a jihadist, terrorist organization. HTS was formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra (also known as the al-Nusra Front) which was al-Qaeda’s official wing in Syria. It also had links with ISIS (the Islamic State) and was designated by the United Nations as a terrorist organization.
As Matthew Levitt, an expert on terrorism, notes:
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s role in Assad’s eventual fall essentially began in July 2011, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—then the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq, previously known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—sent Abu Mohammed al-Jolani to spearhead his group’s entry into Syria. This was the same Jolani who would later become the head of HTS, spearhead the offensive that toppled Assad, and adopt the name Ahmed al-Sharaa, thereby casting himself as Syria’s next leader.
Under al-Sharaa’s new regime, religious minorities (such as Christians, Druze, and Alawites) are subject to increased persecution. They are experiencing murders, abductions, arbitrary detentions, property grabs, and vandalism against their places of worship.
Syria’s Christians, most of whom are of Greek descent and have lived there for thousands of years, are among the country’s most vulnerable minorities.
The journalist who spoke to this publication on the condition of anonymity was arbitrarily detained by HTS forces recently. He told us about his detention and the current situation in Syria regarding Christians:
I was pressured over a personal matter and later detained by HTS forces. During this time, I faced intimidation and threats before eventually being released. HTS and its affiliates abuse their power against us, and the wealth of the Antiochian Greeks has become a target for extortion.
Since HTS took control, there have been multiple incidents targeting Christians, particularly in areas like Qasaa and Bab Touma, he said.
These include the distribution of Islamist flyers calling on Christian women to wear the hijab, armed groups marching through Christian neighborhoods with Islamist flags, intimidating residents, and reports of land and property seizures targeting Christian families.
The Muslim population, emboldened by HTS’ rise to power, has engaged in increasing levels of intimidation and violence against Christians. In the ‘Christian Valley’, villages were urged by the regime to surrender their weapons. They did so, believing that only the state should have the right to bear arms. However, this decision left them defenseless, making them an easy target.
Now, with HTS in control, many Muslim villagers see an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Antiochian Greeks, who tend to be more educated and economically successful, are particularly vulnerable to extortion, land grabs, and outright violence.
On February 26th, near the Holy Cross Church in Damascus, HTS-linked security forces harassed and attempted to detain a young Antiochian Greek man and two women, claiming to enforce “God’s law.”
On February 27th, locals woke up to find two small Christian shrines (Eikonostasia) in Damascus vandalized. Mobs had chanted “Allahu Akbar” while destroying them overnight before fleeing.
On March 3rd, HTS militants, masked with stockings, were filmed moving weapons into private properties in the upscale Malki district of Damascus, home to Sunni Muslim and Christian residents, as part of their effort to seize the properties.
Meanwhile, leaks from Syria’s Constitutional Declaration Committee have confirmed that the first article of the constitution will require a Muslim president.
“This is not just legal exclusion; it is the formalization of deep-rooted cultural, political, and social marginalization of Syrian Christians,” noted the X account Greco-Levantines Worldwide:
This is no less than racial segregation. It enshrines a system where Muslims are politically superior to Christians, despite the fact that Syrian Christians are among the most educated and peaceful communities in the country. No matter how qualified, they will always be second-class citizens.
Syrian Christians built the country’s first newspapers, its banking system, its modern education system. But today, they are told they are not “Syrian enough” to lead it. The constitution will make sure of that. If Syrian Christians are good enough to pay taxes, serve in the army, and contribute to every part of the nation, why are they not good enough to be president?
The most urgent need for Christians in Syria is administrative decentralization: a system of strong municipalities with administrative autonomy, the journalist speaking to europeanconservative.com said.
This would allow local communities to manage their own affairs without interference from Islamist-controlled authorities, have local police forces to protect Christian neighborhoods and make independent decisions on issues like business regulations and religious policies.
For example, there is pressure from the new Islamist regime to shut down restaurants during Ramadan—a decision that should be left to municipalities in their own areas, not imposed on Christian neighborhoods.
Local governance with municipal police, judicial autonomy, and economic self-management would allow Christian communities to protect their interests without being physically isolated from other regions. This model ensures that Christians can maintain their presence across Syria, rather than being confined to one area. A strong municipal governance system is the most effective way to preserve our existence, protect our rights, and ensure a stable future in Syria.
