'Killed because they are Alawites': Fear among Syria's minorities after the fall of Assad

BBC ^ | Nov 10 | BBC

[RandFan]

The killer came by night – a masked man on a motorbike who struck without warning and then sped away. It's become a familiar pattern in some corners of the new Syria in recent months, as the country's fragile unity is eroded by revenge attacks and sectarian killings.

The main targets are Alawites, the sect of the ousted Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. But this time, on 1 October, the victims were Christians – Wissam and Shafiq Mansour, cousins who were both 39, and were as close as brothers. As they chatted with a friend over coffee and cigarettes, they were hit by a hail of bullets.

The killings happened in the village of Anaz in Wadi al-Nasara, or the Valley of the Christians – an area of rolling hills in rural Homs province in western Syria. Locals say the gunman came from the direction of a nearby Sunni Muslim village.

Sitting a short distance from Wissam's coffin, his father George, railed against the authorities, saying Christians in the valley had been left defenceless.

Many in the valley are feeling vulnerable these days. Before the regime fell, they backed Assad, and he backed them. Many Christian communities looked to him for protection. Wissam was part of a pro-Assad militia, defending his village. Some locals say that's why he was targeted.

Was it a revenge attack, or a sectarian killing? We can't be sure, but nothing will bring Wissam back to his wife Leen. She bent over his coffin for a last goodbye, then slumped back, ashen-faced.

[RandFan]

And so the civil war and killing continues in Syria especially minorities including Christians while a terrorist plays acting president. Sad.

[Netz]

Alawites killed by Sunnis killed by Shiites, killed by Bedouin killed by ISIS killed by Kurds, killed by Assyrians who kill Druze who kill Yazidis who kill Circassians who kill Turkmen, who kill Christians...and so it goes.

Whoever is in power in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, slaughters whoever they can. THAT is the Islamic way. Yet who do the young PALEOstinians protest against? Democratic and moral Israel because they expect nothing from their brothers except death.
Where are Christians safe? Israel of course. Where are Druze safe? Israel of course.
Hey Western idiot protesters, go protest against your scum brothers and sisters in that region.

[philman_36]

Ooh-ooh...the recent killing of Christians in Nigeria made Trump mad so let's start reporting on them being killed in Syria to get him to respond.
/warped, biased, leftist media

[Uncle Miltie]

But hey! We get an air base in Syria.

So we can put boots on the ground.

So there’s that.

:-(

[ByteMercenary]

“Alawites killed by Sunnis killed by Shiites, killed by Bedouin killed by ISIS killed by Kurds, killed by Assyrians who kill Druze who kill Yazidis who kill Circassians who kill Turkmen, who kill Christians...and so it goes.”

So how does a person from one sect tell what sect another person is? What if someone is from a Sunni village but are visiting someone in a Shiite village when the killing starts? Is s/he passed over? They all look alike, sound alike, smell alike, etc. I don’t think they wear signs ...

[SaveFerris]

✝️✝️🙏🙏🛐🛐

[Netz]

The locals know who is who and who should be abducted, raped and killed. It is common knowledge between sects, tribes and peoples. They have been killing each other for eons. They only live in the 7th century. These scum are Israel’s neighbors and yet the world condemns Israel for lies that spread like wildfire.