Christian watch group rises up to protect community amid growing violence in Syria

FIRST ON FOX: The increasing convulsive attacks and killings successful Syria nether the Islamist regularisation of the caller authorities led by Ahmed al-Sharaa person enactment the country's Christian assemblage connected edge, with galore fearing for their future.

"The concern for Christians successful Syria has reached a captious threshold, and I'd reason they're teetering connected the borderline of catastrophe," Jeff King, the president of International Christian Concern, told Fox News Digital.

"A jihadist tempest is opening to rainfall down connected them and, truthful however agelong tin religion hold?" King added.

While King's enactment has been actively helping persecuted Christians successful Syria arsenic good arsenic globally for years, a radical of Syrian Christians successful the country's capital, Damascus, known arsenic the Eagles of Antioch, came unneurotic to support their communities and spiritual individuality pursuing the autumn of erstwhile Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad.

EVANGELICAL LEADER SAYS US MUST PROTECT SYRIAN CHRISTIANS FROM ATTACKS BY JIHADI TERRORISTS

The Eagles of Antioch protestation successful Damascus pursuing the burning of a Christmas histrion by extremists.  (Eagles of Antioch)

The group's value is adjacent much significant, fixed the attacks by Islamic extremists earlier this period that resulted successful the decease of hundreds of the number Alawite assemblage arsenic good arsenic respective Christians who were targeted owed to their faith. 

The "Eagles of Antioch," is simply a unpaid enactment made up of astir 500 volunteers, operating wrong 3 chiefly Christian neighborhoods successful Damascus. They ticker implicit Christian areas from dusk to dawn, patrolling the streets and protecting Christian shrines from attack.

Danial Georgios, a operation technologist surviving successful Damascus, spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital astir the group's enactment successful Damascus neighborhoods. Georgios, 30, and his Eagles of Antioch privation to capable successful the information spread until tensions ease.

"We privation to beryllium represented. We nary longer judge the thought of being marginalized oregon treated similar a second-class citizen," helium told Fox News Digital.

"We look astatine ourselves that we are adjacent to the Muslim, the Alawite, and each azygous Syrian citizen," helium added.

The radical derives its sanction from the past metropolis of Antioch, reflecting their deep-rooted transportation to the Antiochian Patriarchate. Members hail from 3 main Christian denominations: Antiochian Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Melkite Catholics and Antiochian Syriac Orthodox. 

Members of the radical patrol their communities, protecting Christian beatified sites, including shrines, symbols and churches. If a tract is damaged oregon vandalized, the radical volition repair it themselves, hoping to debar an escalation into sectarian struggle betwixt the Christian assemblage and their Sunni neighbors.

They advocator for a strategy based connected beardown municipalities, oregon utmost section governance, enabling Christians crossed Syria to negociate their ain affairs and observe their spiritual festivals without fearfulness of persecution. Since emerging, the radical has successfully protected liquor stores, churches, shrines and residences from theft and vandalism, according to the Eagles of Antioch.

Georgios and his peers were spurred to enactment successful December aft a Christmas histrion was lit connected occurrence successful Al-Sqailbiyyah, conscionable extracurricular Hama. Radical jihadists, according to Georgios, were liable for the vandalism. Following the incident, He and his chap Christians organized a wide peaceful protestation wrong Damascus, chanting for adjacent rights for each Syrians.

Christians stitchery to observe Christmas astatine the Monastery of Our Lady of Saydnaya connected December 24, 2024, successful Saydnaya, Syria. Christians successful the recently liberated Syria are celebrating Christmas but whitethorn beryllium facing an uncertain aboriginal aft the overthrow of the Assad Regime. Christian Syrians are apprehensive the caller Islamist medication could marginalize number communities. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

"We privation to internally beryllium capable to constabulary our area," Georgios said. However, helium stressed that immoderate actions taken are successful coordination with the HTS authorities and volition not interaction the sovereignty of Syria oregon situation its rule.

Even if HTS is susceptible of providing afloat information successful Damascus and different number communities astir Syria, Georgios said the radical volition not dissolve but would beryllium unfastened to joining state-sponsored section constabulary forces nether the authorization of HTS if the governmental modulation continues.

"We privation to beryllium represented, and we nary longer judge the thought of being marginalized oregon treated similar second-class citizens. We look astatine ourselves that we are adjacent to the Muslim, the Alawite and each azygous Syrian citizen," Georgios said.

UNCOVERING THE ATROCITIES OF THE ASSAD REGIME AT ITS 'DEATH FACTORY' ON THE HIL

Since Assad fell and HTS took power, Georgios claims that astir of the attacks against Christian communities were carried retired by overseas factions oregon extremist elements, and is not authorities sanctioned.

Despite reports and accusations that HTS members person been targeting Christians, helium claims, "It’s not HTS astatine all, HTS is trying to debar immoderate clashes with Christians. HTS is present the authorities and we arsenic Christians effort to enactment stability," Georgios asserted.

Syrian families who fled the clashes successful Syria get to transverse into the bluish colony of Heker al-Daher successful Akkar province, Lebanon, connected Tuesday, March 11, 2025.  (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

HTS promised not to people spiritual minorities during their lightning way to seizing Damascus and toppling Assad. The radical made assurances to the communities they controlled that they would let spiritual minorities to peacefully coexist and would not beryllium targeted for their faith. 

Yet, King's enactment isn't arsenic hopeful. "Since HTS toppled the Assad authorities successful December 2024, the situation has been precarious astatine best. But the bloodshed that unfolded March 6-10 successful Latakia and Tartous represents a frightening escalation. According to the Syrian Observatory, the unit claimed implicit 1,540 lives—predominantly civilians, with reports indicating betwixt 4 and a twelve Christians among the casualties."

He continued, "While HTS hasn't yet implemented an authoritative anti-Christian argumentation (they're treading cautiously reasoning astir nationalist cognition arsenic they solidify control), definite factions and idiosyncratic fighters are already targeting Christians with violence."

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group's main Abu Mohamed al-Jolani checks the harm pursuing an earthquake successful the colony of Besnaya successful Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib state astatine the borderline with Turkey, connected February 7, 2023.  (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

King's enactment noted that the caller interim Syrian constitution states, "The religion of the President of the Republic is Islam," Article III declares, and "Islamic jurisprudence is the main root of legislation." The radical says that "this connection is somewhat starker than Syria’s erstwhile constitution, which cited Islamic instrumentality arsenic simply 1 root among others." 

International Christian Concern (ICC) besides noted that the interim constitution besides guarantees extortion "for each divine religions." The ICC wrote that the papers "seems to bespeak that the authorities intends to tolerate Christians and different spiritual minorities."

And determination are immoderate encouraging signs according to the Eagles of Antioch, who accidental they coordinate intimately with HTS successful Damascus, according to Georgios, benefiting from the beingness of educated HTS fighters successful the city. This collaboration ensures that Islamic rules are not imposed connected Christian neighborhoods. Together with HTS police, they enactment to forestall crimes, maintaining information and harmony wrong these communities.

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A woody transverse and Syrian emblem are seen astatine an Eagles of Antioch protestation successful Damascus successful December 2024. (Eagles of Antioch)

Some of the volunteers person weapons that are licensed and sanctioned by HTS officials. They pass and coordinate with them and supply accusation connected the radical who committed immoderate crimes.

Yet contempt immoderate affirmative signs, King said, "Syria's Christian colonisation has already experienced a devastating decline, dropping from 1.5 cardinal earlier the struggle to determination betwixt 300,000 and 500,000 now. The assemblage exists successful a authorities of perpetual anxiety, doors locked, waiting tensely for the concern to deteriorate further," helium warned.