Syria (MNN) — On Wednesday, Syria’s defense ministry stated that its army has reinforced its deployments along the borders with Lebanon and Iraq. Officials claim it is a protective measure, as regional conflict heats up.
Yet an old danger is rising within Syria itself: ISIS.
In January, government troops under President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration clashed with Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria. American intelligence agencies believe that during that campaign,15,000-20,000 people were freed from detention camps. Many of these people were affiliated with ISIS.
Aleppo, Syria (Photo courtesy of Ahmad Sofi via Unsplash)
“There is legitimate concern that we are walking back into the same ISIS war that we left a few years ago,” says Duane Friesen with Voice of the Martyrs Canada. “And what will that mean for the Christian community? What will it mean for the neighboring countries?”
Regardless of new labels or badges that Syrian militant groups might take, Friesen observes, “they seem to run back to the same narrative, and that is, ‘Anyone who’s not like me is somebody that’s worth killing.’ And anytime you’re into that mindset, the story seems to always go the same way.”
In the past year, Syria’s Christian, Alawite, and Druze minorities have endured episodes of terrible violence — sometimes at the hands of government forces, and sometimes at the hands of other ethnic or militant groups — including ISIS.
“I hope that this government that’s now in place will take seriously some of the honest conversations in regard to religious freedom. They have been approached on this topic very clearly. They have an opportunity right now,” says Friesen. “Will they take up the mantle of justice for all who are Syrian? That’s still to be seen, and that’s the concern.”
For Christians, uncertainty and even fear under the government of President al-Sharaa continues, but so does the call to share the gospel. Please watch and pray for boldness for Syria’s Christians under tremendous pressure.
“Believers want to have the courage to do what God has called them to do, even in the midst of the challenges,” says Friesen. “Pray that God would open a way in the minds and hearts of the new government to see the value of providing religious freedom for all who live in Syria.”
Header photo: What is left of a street in Daraa, Syria, an ISIS stronghold. Stock photo courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman/Unsplash.
