Humanitarian groups fear a surprise attack. launched Last week's attack on the Syrian government by al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) could put Syria's Christians at even greater risk, after a decade of civil war and the rise of Islamic State. He was already struggling to survive.
Aid to Churches in Need (ACN), an organization founded in 1947 that provides humanitarian aid to persecuted Christians around the world, said on Tuesday that there are about 25,000 Christians in Aleppo. Announced. Aleppo was first a target of HTS militants and is now a target of “devastating victims”. ” Syrian army counterattack.
“Basic services are paralyzed, with only two hospitals dealing with serious cases. Food supplies are inadequate, prices are soaring, and residents are exposed to the double burden of bombing and insecurity on the ground. ” said Mariel Boutros, ACN's Syria project manager.
“There is always an atmosphere of fear. People are locked up. No one is allowed to enter or leave the city. An Armenian doctor was killed by a sniper and a bus that was leaving for Hassakeh was also attacked. ” she said.
“Schools are not open and banks are not functioning, so people are unable to get their paychecks,” she added.
“The people are deeply frightened. The airstrikes and the tight control of the rebels who have occupied the city have turned survival into a daily struggle,” said ACN Secretary-General Philippe Ozores.
“This is a time for unity and action,” Ozores said. “ACN calls on Christian communities around the world to unite in prayer for Aleppo and seek peace, protection and hope for all its peoples.”
International Christian Concern (ICC) said They believe that the dictator Bashar al-Assad regime (currently being shaken from its feet by a sudden and surprisingly effective HTS attack) has made the situation across Syria dangerous for Christians and other religious minorities. announced on Tuesday that it offers only limited protection.
“In the face of a series of sanctions from Western countries over President Assad's ongoing gross human rights violations, including the use of chemical weapons against his own people, President Assad presents himself as a secular and protector of Christian communities. ICC said. .
“Christians have little credence to these claims, which ring hollow in the face of acts like the regime's 76 attacks on Christian places of worship in 2022,” the group said.
of christian post on sunday quotation Church leaders in Aleppo say their community is in “grave danger” now that Islamic militants have taken control of the city.
Aleppo's Maronite Archbishop Joseph Tobzi said residents were caught off guard by the speed of the HTS attack and had little time to stockpile food.
HTS forces documented the capture of Aleppo in social media posts, including footage of jihadists tearing down Christmas decorations. of christian post It said HTS has a history of “enforcing its strict Sunni supremacist ideology through violent persecution,” including “executions, torture, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention.”
John Eibner, president of Switzerland-based Christian Solidarity International (CSI), called on President-elect Donald Trump to “deliver on his promise” to protect persecuted Christians.
“Christians and others who care about religious freedom and other fundamental human rights should insist that this pre-election promise be honored,” Eibner said.
playing cards said At the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in February 2024, he announced that if re-elected, he would create a new federal task force to “investigate all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and persecution against Christians in the United States.” .
Protecting Christians in other countries is a much more difficult order, but Mr. Trump has promised to meet the challenge.
October 2024, President Trump blown up Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden said 120,000 people suffered “horrible persecution and forced displacement” when Muslim Azerbaijan invaded the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and destroyed the Armenian-Artsakh Republic. did “nothing” to protect Armenian Christians.
“If I become president, I will protect persecuted Christians, work to stop violence and ethnic cleansing, and restore peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Trump said.
