Tulsi Gabbard's warning to Senate on Syria proves prophetic as Al Qaeda-linked regime slaughters minorities

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's informing of a violent takeover successful Syria looks to beryllium coming existent amid reports that al Qaeda-linked panic forces aligned with Syria’s interim caller president—a erstwhile al Qaeda terrorist—are being accused of massacring Alawites arsenic good arsenic members of the country's dwindling Christian community. 

Syrian information forces and affiliated gunmen person killed much than 340 civilians, the immense bulk of them from the Alawite minority, implicit the past 2 days, Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters connected Saturday.

At Gabbard's Senate confirmation hearing she said "I person nary emotion for Assad oregon immoderate dictator. I conscionable hatred al-Qaeda. I hatred that our leaders cozy up to Islamist extremists, calling them "rebels", arsenic Jake Sullivan said to Hillary Clinton, "al Qaeda is connected our broadside successful Syria." Syria is present controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who danced successful the streets connected 9/11, and who was liable for the sidesplitting of galore American soldiers."

An Alawite pistillate from the portion of Al-Ghab plain, wherever determination is simply a bulk Alawite population, told Fox News Digital that the forces said, "Alawites are pigs, and they person to execute each of them and the tiny children earlier the aged people." 

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Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's prime to beryllium the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to look earlier the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation proceeding connected Capitol Hill connected Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, successful Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell) (AP)

The witnesser spoke connected the information of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the authorities. She said that 2 militias had entered her location connected Thursday and searched her residence for weapons. One of the members "put a weapon to my caput and asked for each my money. They took each the wealth and took wealth from our neighbors."

She confirmed reports that the Islamist forces murdered the salient Alawite 86-year-old cleric Shaaban Mansour and his lad Hussein Shaaban. Reuters reported that Mansour was killed connected Friday with his lad successful the colony of Sahlab successful occidental Syria. Residents determination accused fighters aligned with Damascus of sidesplitting them.

A sizable Christian colonisation surviving successful the country has besides reportedly been nether attack. Greco-Levantines Worldwide media reported that a young family, including their babe child, was killed connected Friday.  A begetter and son, Tony and Fadi Petrus, were besides executed by Islamists.

The witness said that successful different Alawite towns—Nahr al-Bared and Deir Shamil—the Islamist militias "are entering houses and sidesplitting radical and stealing everything. They are covering their faces." 

"I consciousness determination is nary safety. There is nary homeland. There is obscurity to flight to, and nary 1 to support us. I consciousness fearfulness and horrifying feelings."

The witnesser added that the Islamists are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and different specified groups affiliated with HTS, who stormed her region. She said HTS terrorists were Syrian Arabs, due to the fact that of their spoken Arabic.

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Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated violent organization, overthrew erstwhile Syrian President Bashar Assad in December (Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated Sunni violent organization, toppled the erstwhile Syrian President Bashar Assad in December. Assad is simply a subordinate of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The Alawites comprise astir 10% of the Syrian population.

The Alawite root told Fox News Digital that the assemblage is seeking enactment from the U.S., noting that the Islamists "want to termination each of us. They don’t privation america successful Syria. We person to fly Syria. They are seeking revenge from the erstwhile regime. I americium asking for extortion and to unrecorded successful dignity, due to the fact that we tin beryllium killed astatine immoderate moment." 

One Alawite, who asked to stay anonymous, and who lives successful Europe and is successful changeless interaction with her assemblage successful Syria, claimed that successful the coastal portion and Alawite, much than 4,000 radical are estimated to person been killed. She claimed to person received lists of radical from Alawites who person documented the wide murder.

The Syrian service sends reinforcements, including tanks, armored vehicles and rocket launchers, to Latakia and Tartus arsenic hunt operations against the ousted authorities forces grow pursuing an onslaught connected information forces successful Latakia state of Syria connected March 7, 2025. (Izettin Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

She and her radical wrote connected Telegram that al-Sharaa's "fighters person unleashed a question of panic against civilians successful Syria’s coastal cities. Reports from Alawite assemblage sources bespeak hundreds of casualties, with Christians besides among the victims."

In his archetypal comments connected the violence, interim President al-Sharaa said that authorities forces would prosecute "remnants" of the ousted Bashar Assad government.

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

People question guns successful the aerial arsenic they stitchery to observe the autumn of the Syrian authorities successful Umayyad Square connected Dec. 8 successful Damascus, Syria.  (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

"We volition proceed to prosecute the remnants of the fallen regime. . . . We volition bring them to a just court, and we volition proceed to restrict weapons to the state, and nary escaped weapons volition stay successful Syria," Sharaa added successful a pre-recorded speech.

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, European politicians and diplomats from the erstwhile Biden medication person sought to woo Sharaa with sanctions alleviation and diplomatic relations since December. Critics reason that a erstwhile Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist, Sharra, can’t simply athletics a suit and unreal helium has abandoned his violent ideology and methods.

Just 2 days earlier the slaughter of Alawites, Guterres met with Sharaa connected Tuesday successful Cairo wherever they discussed views astir a caller people for Syria.

While an authoritative connection has yet to travel from the U.N. chief, his peculiar envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said helium was "deeply concerned" by the reports of killings.

A radical of Alawite clerics, the Alawite Islamic Council, blamed the unit connected the government, saying that fighters had been sent to the seashore "with the pretext of (combating) 'regime remnants,' to terrorize and termination Syrians." It called for the portion to beryllium enactment nether U.N. protection.

Syrian authorities said the unit began erstwhile remnants loyal to Assad launched a deadly and well-planned onslaught connected their forces connected Thursday.

The unit has shaken Sharaa's efforts to consolidate power arsenic his medication struggles to get U.S. sanctions lifted and grapples with wider information challenges, notably successful the southwest, where Israel has said it volition forestall Damascus from deploying forces.

The unit spiraled connected Thursday erstwhile the authorities said groups of Assad-aligned militias had targeted information patrols and checkpoints successful the Jableh country and surrounding countryside, earlier spreading.

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Moussa al-Omar, a Syrian media fig adjacent to the country's caller leadership, told Reuters that tens of thousands of fighters successful Syria's recently constituted information forces had been deployed to the seashore successful the cognition and that bid had been mostly restored arsenic of Friday night.

He said the crackdown was "a connection to anyone successful the southbound oregon eastbound of Syria that the authorities . . . is susceptible of a subject solution astatine immoderate time, adjacent arsenic it seeks peaceful solutions."

Alawite activists accidental their assemblage has been subjected to unit and attacks, peculiarly successful agrarian Homs and Latakia, since Assad was overthrown successful December aft decades of repressive household regularisation and civilian war.

Saudi Arabia condemned "crimes being undertaken by outlaw groups" successful Syria and their targeting of information forces.

Deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seen arriving successful Jeddah, to be the Arab League acme the pursuing time successful Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2023. Assad is successful present surviving successful exile successful Russia. SANA/Handout via Reuters

Turkey, a adjacent state of Syria's caller government, besides stated its enactment for Damascus, saying, "The hostility successful and astir Latakia, arsenic good arsenic the targeting of information forces, could undermine the efforts to pb Syria into the aboriginal successful unity and solidarity."

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz blasted Syria’s Islamist rulers connected Friday for their run to smash a nascent insurgency by fighters from ousted President Assad’s Alawite group.

"[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani switched his robe for a suit and presented a mean face," Katz said successful a connection connected X, utilizing the nom de guerre of Ahmed al-Sharaa. "Now he’s taken disconnected the disguise and exposed his existent face: A jihadist violent of the al-Qaeda schoolhouse who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population."

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Katz added, "Israel volition support itself against immoderate menace from Syria. We volition stay successful the information zones and Mount Hermon and support the communities of the Golan and Galilee. We volition guarantee that confederate Syria remains demilitarized and escaped of threats, and we volition support the section Druze population—anyone who harms them volition look our response."

The Syrian Alawite root successful Europe told Fox News Digital that the Alawites privation Israel to support them like Israel’s connection of assistance to the Syrian Druze population, who are besides being targeted by the Islamist authorities successful Damascus.

Reuters contributed to this report.