Syria: Christians Vulnerable As Rebel Militants Capture Their Humanitarian Aid
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The US-based Global Christian Relief ministry has reported that humanitarian supplies delivered for 20,000 Christians in Syria have been hijacked by militants with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist rebel group which captured Aleppo and toppled the Syrian government on Sunday, December 8, Crosswalk reports.
Global Christian Relief ministry provides aid to persecuted Christians worldwide and has been helping the vulnerable, diminishing Christian community that is struggling to survive in war-torn Syria. The number of Christians in Syria has fallen from 1.5 million before the start of the civil war in 2011 to approximately 300,000 now.
Two weeks ago, GCR delivered a consignment of food and medicine to local churches, but much of this has been stolen, Crosswalk reports. “We’ve continuously been delivering aid the last two years, but the stock that we have now, some of it has been captured by these rebels,” GCR President and CEO David Curry said in an interview with the Christian Post.
“There’s still some that remains; we’re going to distribute that as cautiously as we possibly can to people who are now on the run, but the reality is this is a very dangerous area right now for Christians.”
Amid scenes of political prisoners, including women, being released from dungeon-like prisons, Syrians have been rejoicing over the ousting of brutal dictator Basha al-Assad. However, Curry cautions that Christians may be facing persecution and displacement. “Considered a terrorist organization, [HTS militants] have, in less than two weeks, ethnically cleansed the northwest of Syria — including Aleppo and beyond — of Kurds and Christians. Despite public protestations to the contrary, we can expect them to extend their campaign to the rest of the country.”
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