Hundreds slaughtered in Syria, expert believes ongoing chaos likely to get worse

Originally published in CBN News

With dire reports of mass killings coming out of Syria, one expert is sounding the alarm about the dangerous situation on the ground.

Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at Christian Solidarity International, told CBN News he believes at least hundreds of people might have been killed in recent days amid murderous unrest in the region.

“There’s a list circulating of 717 names of Alawite Muslim civilians who were killed in the last few days, and that list was circulated on Saturday,” he said. “It’s now Monday, and the killings haven’t stopped as far as we can tell. It’s extremely grave.”

Veldkamp said armed forces loyal to Syria’s new government have attacked the region, where most of the residents are part of the Alawite Muslim sect.

“This is a sect of Islam that the jihadists worldview would consider an apostate sect, which means they’re outside the law, they’re outside of protection, they can be killed, they can be enslaved, really seen as worse than Christians and Jews, as some jihadists will say,” he said. “This is kind of what we were afraid of three months ago when the Assad regime was overthrown by this rebel coalition.”

Despite the horror inflicted under former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Veldkamp noted that those who overthrew the regime — under the control of a man named Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa — are jihadists whom he said have been “preaching this horrible message of Sunni Muslim supremacy.”

“I’m afraid it’s very bad and it is likely to get worse,” Veldkamp added.

While some headlines and videos circulating have alleged that Christian minorities are being targeted, he said he has heard of only a few cases of Christians being killed and, from his perspective, it does not at this time seem to be a systematic problem.

Al-Sharaa was the leader of the al-Qaeda in Syria, which adds chaos into the mix — and uncertainty about how he will lead. Watch Veldkamp explain.

CNN reported Wednesday that the United Nations human rights office said entire families were killed amid the violence, with some estimates noting 800 people were slaughtered.

The clash reportedly unfolded between groups loyal to the new regime and those affiliated with al-Assad.

With the violence reportedly now coming to a halt, Al-Sharaa said he will assemble a committee to investigate what unfolded and hold those responsible accountable.

False rumours of mass murder of Christians puts believers at risk, says Open Doors

Matthew Barnes, communications officer for Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors in the Middle East and North Africa, said that there was no evidence of a major attack on Christians in Syria, reports Christian Today.

“We know that four Christian men have died in the region where the violence took place. We know that one of them was hit by a stray bullet. And we have no evidence that any of them were killed because of their faith. This certainly doesn’t equate to a ‘slaughter of Christians.’”

Following the violence, social media users started circulating stories of the mass murder of Christians. One such was X account “Libs of TikTok” posted, “Radical Islamic extremists are rounding up and murdering Christians in Syria[.] Where are the self-proclaimed human rights organizations???”

Barnes expressed his fear that by stoking such rumours and falsehoods, the situation for Christians on the ground could be negatively affected: “I’m terribly worried by it, because something like this can rebound onto the Christians there.

“When a Christian NGO recently started a lawsuit against the new president, the Syrian government summoned a bishop from the same denomination as the NGO and asked why Christians are so against the president.

“The lesson is that we must assume that everything that’s in the news, or even on social media, will be seen by governments and other armed groups. And that can have terrible repercussions on the Christian population, who likely had nothing to do with the rumours.”

Barnes cautioned, however, that the massacre has given them cause for concern that Christians, even if they are not specifically targeted, will inevitably suffer the dire results of living in a country that descends into sectarian violence.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Please help us to keep on publishing news that brings Hope in Jesus:

>> Donate  >> Become a Super Subscriber

VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/gatewaynews100

COMMENTING GUIDELINES
You are welcome to engage with our articles by making comments [in the Comments area below] that add value to a topic or to engage in thoughtful, constructive discussion with fellow readers. Comments that contain vulgar language will be removed. Hostile, demeaning, disrespectful, propagandistic and off-topic comments may also be moved. This is a Christian website and if you wish to vent against Christian beliefs you have probably come to the wrong place and your comments may be removed. Ongoing debates and repetitiveness will not be tolerated. You will also disqualify yourself from commenting if you engage in trolling.