U.S. says it stands with Syria’s religious, ethnic minorities
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said on Sunday that the U.S. stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities and condemned murdering people in Syria’s coastal region at the hands of “foreign jihadists.”
“The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities,” Rubio said in a statement.
He condemned the what he called “the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis,” that murdered people in Syria’s coastal cities in recent days.
Rubio offered the U.S. condolences to the victims and their families, and said, “Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
On March 6, intense clashes erupted in Syria’s Latakia Governorate between the General Security forces of the caretaker government and pro-Assad insurgents, particularly in areas like Jableh. The violence, marked by coordinated attacks and retaliatory airstrikes, resulted in over 1,000 deaths, including approximately 745 civilians, many from the Alawite community. The conflict has fueled mass displacement and deepened sectarian tensions, posing a major challenge to the new government’s stabilization efforts.