Protests erupted in the Syrian town of Al-Suqaylabiyah over the weekend after residents said men from the nearby Sunni town of Qalaat al-Madiq attacked the predominantly Christian community following a dispute between two individuals.
The disagreement escalated into violence, with homes, shops, and cars set ablaze and shot at. Some residents were reportedly assaulted while attempting to stop the arson, according to the Associated Press.
Demonstrators on Saturday called on Syria’s new leadership to impose tighter arms control, compensate victims, and launch investigations to hold those responsible accountable.
A broader failure of the Sharaa regime
Critics say the incident underscores a broader failure by the new authorities to curb sectarian violence. Minority groups, including Druze and Alawites, have repeatedly been targeted, with thousands killed since Islamist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa seized control of the country from the Assad regime in December 2024.
Member of the European Parliament Emmanouíl Fragkos published a letter to the vice-president of the European Parliament, claiming he had seen reports of the Syrian regime “escorting and protecting” those attacking the Christian neighborhood.
Despite Fragkos’ claim, AP reported that government forces entered the town to calm the violence.
Prof. Moshe Maoz, a professor emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a leading expert on Syria and Arab affairs, told The Jerusalem Post that the attacks on the Christian community were less violent than those against the Alawites and Druze.
The Christians in Syria are less armed than other minority groups and so pose less of a threat to the regime, Maoz noted, and there is significantly more support due to the sizeable Christian population in Europe and the US.
“The problem is with radically Islamic elements who are also against the regime, but also Christians, and they are doing their best to damage these relations,” he theorized. “It might the regime is trying its best, as far as they can see, to protect Christians, because of the international interest to do it, but they're still weak…. They have so many tasks to do, so it's going to take time to do it.”
The violence followed new legislation, which would restrict the sale and consumption of alcohol in the majority of Damascus, which is expected to harm pubs and restaurants owned by the country’s Christian minority. Sharaa, a former leader of the Islamic terror group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, has seen a number of conservative legislative measures pushed on Syrians.
Last year, the Sharaa government banned women working in the public sector from wearing makeup and placed new requirements for swimsuits on public beaches, leaving many to question early promises of pluralism.