Thursday, March 6, a band of Alawite fighters from the old regime killed more than a dozen soldiers in the coastal town of Jableh affiliated with the new government. 

But it might not have “started” on Thursday. Samuel* with Redemptive stories says, “They killed, the reports say, 16 to 20 soldiers related to a dispute…. There [are] suspicions that there was some act done even before that, which then this [attack on soldiers] was recompense for that previous act.”

Syrian citizens celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, December 2024 (Photo courtesy of Shvan Hark via Unsplash)

In response, the government sent in troops and a massacre began. The numbers are still coming in, but reports are saying hundreds of fighters and civilians were killed. Christians were among those slain. However, the chief targets were Alawites, a minority sect of Shia Islam that Syria’s former president belongs to. (Amid misinformation regarding this event, read a detailed analysis here.) 

Samuel explains the killing happened “primarily in areas that were hubs for Alawite fighters, or Alawite military personnel historically. But then they were killing quite indiscriminately — killing families, young people who had nothing to do with [it]. I mean, they were part of the previous regime, [by] the fact that they were Alawites, but it was more of an ethnic cleansing as retribution for what was done [in Jableh].” 

The fallout from these horrific killings has already begun. “Some say over 10,000 have crossed into Lebanon, trying to seek refuge there,” Samuel says. 

But there’s another, deeper issue in the fallout.

“The new government is showing their inability to form systems of society that are needed in order to be able to govern its people,” he says. “They’re working towards it, but still, there seems to be a disconnect, as you can tell by the goon-ery of their troops and this massacre that occurred.”

Photo courtesy of Ahmed Akacha via Pexels

Another example of this lack of structure is that security checkpoints in Syria are haphazard, not clearly regulated. One of Samuel’s teammates was in Syria recently. He says checkpoints during al-Assad’s rule were clearly marked with flags and different uniforms signifying which factions had charge of them. 

“Now you get to a checkpoint, [our partner says, and] you have no idea who these people are. They’re just wearing this regular old camo. They might have a new flag on it, but there’s no marking that these are military personnel, police officers or civil defense,” Samuel explains. 

“So they’re still lagging behind in their ability to create the structures necessary for a flourishing society. The honeymoon period is over, and the true colors seem to be coming out more and more.”

That’s not the full story though. Samuel says that in the midst of deep suffering, there are opportunities for believers to step in with gospel hope and help. At the same time, this kind of hardship “also exacerbates already [existing] issues, like fear, the ability to do meetings, to connect together, to meet together.” 

Please, pray for the minority church in Syria. Pray for those who are fleeing to Lebanon and believers who will receive them there.

“We’re just praying for our brothers and sisters on the ground that they can find that balance of still being able to engage people and particularly help them in their season of fear and concern,” Samuel says. “This is an opportunity to care for Alawites. Also in Lebanon, for the refugees that are coming there, [pray] for the church to engage to help them there.”

*Pseudonym

Header photo courtesy of Alexas_Fotos via Pixabay.