And whose side are we on??? We arm the Rebels and the Russians arm the government. Sorry folks, we are on the wrong side here, if there is a side to be on in this situation. These rebels are from all over the caliphate, they are not home grown Syrians. This isn’t a civil war, this is an invasion by a hostile islamic force backed by people like Sen McCain and the White House. We are on the side of the islamists, those who would l;ove nothing more than to kill all of these Christians, these Antiochan Orthodox are one of the oldest sects in Christianity having direct lineage back to Saint Peter, the first bishop of the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Syrian Islamist opposition casts out Christians
The Christian minority in Syria is facing a growing threat and thousands are being forced to flee their homes as they face harassment and discrimination from radial Islamist factions of the opposition.
At least 9,000 Christians from the western Syrian city of Qusayr were forced to seek refuge after an ultimatum from a local military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba, Fides news agency reports.
In the latest outburst of violence a Christian man was shot dead by a sniper in Qusayr, which neighbors the restive city of Homs.
There have been reports last week that some mosques in the city have announced from the minarets: “Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, which expires this Friday.”
Two Catholic priests who fled Qusayr confirmed to the news agency that they heard the ultimatum “with their own ears” repeated from the minarets.
“The situation is unsustainable in the area and exposed to total lawlessness,” Fides sources on the ground say. They also fear that the fate of Christians in Qusayr could soon affect the 10,000 believers who live in other villages in the area.
The areas controlled by the opposition are witnessing the rise of radical forms of Sunni Islam with the extremists not willing to live in peace with the Christians. Many of these gangs and armed groups operate independently of the Free Syrian Army, which rejects such kinds of discrimination against minorities.
Apart from religious rifts, the violence against the Christian community may also be fueled by the fact that they have openly expressed support to the regime. Bashar Assad, as well as his late father, Hafez Assad, guaranteed secular rule in Syria, protecting Christians from discrimination and guaranteeing their rights.
On Wednesday, an armed group broke into and desecrated the Greek-catholic church of St. Elias in Qusayr.
“It is the first time in the ongoing conflict that such an episode has occurred in which sacred symbols are deliberately hit,” a local source told Fides.
Christians make up about 10 per cent of the country’s population with most belonging to the denomination of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
Muslim countries reject successful non-Muslim communities. This is nothing but ethnic cleansing, but nobody will label it such.
@ yenta-fada:
Nope in fact the US is supporting the ethnic cleansing of Christians.
I’ll repost what I said at the ONT at Ace’s last night.
But I need to be fair and also note the dissenting view by Grumpy the Younger: However, someone has to keep the high sees open for global trade, plus the modern corollary of the telecommunications infrastructure, and so forth.
It’s a good argument. So, America does evil (overthrowing Qaddafi for the benefit of an emirate) and good (keeping the oceans mainly pirate-free). But lately I’m seeing a lot more of the evil, and we’re slacking on the good.
@ Zimriel:
Well said.
The time is coming and has already come, bring down that wall Joshua.