by World Tribune Staff, March 9, 2025 Real World News
When Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted long-time Syria dictator Bashar Assad, its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, also known as Ahmed al-Sharaa, was hailed by major media as a moderate who vowed to uphold “religious diversity.” Last week, more than 1,000 Alawites and Christians were killed as HTS forces, backed by Turkey, continue to clash with Assad supporters, reports say. Clashes between new government forces and those loyal to ousted dictator Bashar Assad have resulted in over 1,000 mostly civilian deaths, reports say.
Graphic video footage reported by independent media and reports by rights groups were downplayed by legacy media while the new government in Syria denied its role in any ethnic cleansing.
On Thursday, clashes between Jolani’s fighters and pro-Assad forces in the coastal area of Jableh, a predominantly Alawite region, escalated to death tolls of over 200 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Clashes have broken out in Latakia and Baniyas, among other areas. Latakia has a large Christian community.
In the following days, gunmen linked to the new government killed hundreds in the Alawite coastal areas, according to SOHR, which documented at least 428 Alawite deaths. No official figures have been released.
SOHR also reported hundreds killed in massacres and dozens in clashes. As of Saturday afternoon, it recorded 745 civilian deaths, along with 125 government security forces and 148 pro-Assad militants killed.
“This was one of the biggest massacres during the Syrian conflict,” SOHR director Rami Abdurrahman said about the recent killings of Alawite civilians.
Local residents told Reuters that thousands of people, including Christians and Alawites, have fled to nearby mountains for safety. The Christian population in Syria has drastically dwindled since the start of the civil war, with The Syrian Observer estimating only around 300,000 Christians remain in the country.
The patriarchs of Syria’s three main Christian churches, the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches, issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning the violence and “massacres targeting innocent civilians.” The religious leaders called for “an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values.”
Human Events editor Jack Posobiec noted: “Fact: he (Jolani) ran Idlib like a caliphate—$1 billion in taxes extorted, dissenters tortured. He’s no moderate; he’s a terrorist kingpin— $10 million U.S. bounty still on his head — greenlighting massacres. ….
Jolani “didn’t just stumble into power — Turkey handed him the keys, with Western intel quietly nodding along. HTS, his Al Qaida spinoff, got drones and border access from Ankara while DC’s spooks played coy. …. Mass ethnic killing through coastal towns is ongoing …. Al-Jolani’s ‘inclusive’ talk? Just jihadist PR while the knives sharpen. This is what “regime change” buys you.”
During her Jan. 30 Senate confirmation hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned that Syria was now controlled by an offshoot of Al Qaida.
Jolani has asked for armed groups outside of his forces to hand over their weapons.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a March 9 statement: “The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days. The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families. Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
On Thursday, clashes between Jolani’s fighters and pro-Assad forces in the coastal area of Jableh, a predominantly Alawite region, escalated to death tolls of over 200 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Clashes have broken out in Latakia and Baniyas, among other areas. Latakia has a large Christian community.
In the following days, gunmen linked to the new government killed hundreds in the Alawite coastal areas, according to SOHR, which documented at least 428 Alawite deaths. No official figures have been released.
SOHR also reported hundreds killed in massacres and dozens in clashes. As of Saturday afternoon, it recorded 745 civilian deaths, along with 125 government security forces and 148 pro-Assad militants killed.
“This was one of the biggest massacres during the Syrian conflict,” SOHR director Rami Abdurrahman said about the recent killings of Alawite civilians.
Local residents told Reuters that thousands of people, including Christians and Alawites, have fled to nearby mountains for safety. The Christian population in Syria has drastically dwindled since the start of the civil war, with The Syrian Observer estimating only around 300,000 Christians remain in the country.
The patriarchs of Syria’s three main Christian churches, the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches, issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning the violence and “massacres targeting innocent civilians.” The religious leaders called for “an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values.”
Human Events editor Jack Posobiec noted: “Fact: he (Jolani) ran Idlib like a caliphate—$1 billion in taxes extorted, dissenters tortured. He’s no moderate; he’s a terrorist kingpin— $10 million U.S. bounty still on his head — greenlighting massacres. ….
Jolani “didn’t just stumble into power — Turkey handed him the keys, with Western intel quietly nodding along. HTS, his Al Qaida spinoff, got drones and border access from Ankara while DC’s spooks played coy. …. Mass ethnic killing through coastal towns is ongoing …. Al-Jolani’s ‘inclusive’ talk? Just jihadist PR while the knives sharpen. This is what “regime change” buys you.”
During her Jan. 30 Senate confirmation hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned that Syria was now controlled by an offshoot of Al Qaida.
Jolani has asked for armed groups outside of his forces to hand over their weapons.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a March 9 statement: “The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days. The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families. Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
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