Syrian Christians Face New Threat of Genocide from Muslim Jihadists
One of the world’s oldest Christian communities is facing extermination from jihadists, as Islamic militants linked to Al-Qaeda have seized the Syrian city of Aleppo –home to an estimated 3.5 million people, including more than 50,000 Christians. While Aleppo has seen a mass exodus of some 200,000 Christians in the past 12 years, the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of large parts of the city on Sunday, prompting warnings from persecution watchers of a fresh “religious cleansing” of Christians. “It looks like we are now heading for another major crisis for Syrian Christians,” Dr Martin Parsons , director of The Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution , told The Stream . “Christian aid agencies need to prepare for a massive relief operation.” “Effective and Deadly” Muslim Militants Parsons explained that HTS is a direct affiliate of Al Qaeda set up under the name of the Jabhat al-Nusra Front in 2011 with the help of Abu Bakr al-Ba...