In recent days, a horrifying surge of violence and bloodshed has swept across Syria, leaving a civilian death toll of nearly 1,400. Most of the victims were part of the Alawite sect, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s religious community. A number of Christians who live in close proximity to Alawite communities have also been killed.

The recent killings — best described as massacres — were carried out by militants who opposed Assad’s government and are loyal to the new regime ruling Syria — revolutionaries were led in a “transitional capacity” by former ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Shara, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jilani. A hardened Islamist, Jilani once had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, which has since been removed. He has repeatedly reinvented himself over many years and has now re-emerged as a reformed “man of peace.” 

Tragically, peace was not on his followers’ agenda during the recent carnage.

Charmaine Hedding, president of the Jerusalem-based humanitarian organization Shai Fund, recently discussed the Syrian massacres with Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch.”

“I’ve been talking to people in Syria ever since the violence erupted until just a few hours ago,” Hedding explained. “I’ve received testimonies from family members who have survived the massacres. And what they have to say is absolutely horrific: they report that both HTS and SNA — two Turkish-based proxy militias that have taken over Syria — walked into towns where the Christians and Alawites and other minorities live. And they murdered them without mercy.”

Reportedly, the victims were almost entirely civilian. They were killed simply because they are Alawites — the religious community to which Bashar al-Assad belongs. Meanwhile, the new Syrian government is led by Sunni Muslim rebels who fought against al-Assad in a 13-year civil war.

On March 12, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States would “watch the decisions made by the interim authorities,” after hundreds of civilians were killed in just several days in Latakia and Tartus Provinces, areas dominated by the country’s Alawite religious minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. He added that Washington was concerned by “the recent deadly violence against minorities.”

The number of civilians killed in the recent wave of violence in Syria continues to rise, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said it had documented three massacres, primarily committed against unarmed members of the Alawite sect. As reported by Newsweek, “Under Assad, Alawites held top posts in the army and security agencies. The new government has blamed his loyalists for attacks against the country's new security forces over the past several weeks.”

Assad is an Alawite, and some members of his minority community enjoyed a privileged status under his rule. However, now, since Assad’s opposition has taken over Syria, terrorists have invaded villages and towns where Christians, Alawites, and other religious minorities live. Their violent activities began by mercilessly shooting their victims from motorbikes, after which they broke into homes and shot dead everyone in sight.

“Many of the victims were women and children,” Hedding points out, “and they were killed just because they are Alawites or Christians. They didn’t cause trouble, but they might well have belonged to the same religion as the Assad regime — and that alone made them worth killing. And that’s what these terrorists have been doing. They’re just saying, ‘We’re going to kill you all!’”

Clearly, the assault on the Alawites took place because of the victims’ presumed relationship with Assad. And the victims were most certainly not aligned with the radical interpretation of Sunni Islam that motivates HTS and SNA. SNA is largely comprised of former ISIS terrorists, and HTS, also known as Jabhat al Nusra, is an offshoot of al-Qaeda. These are the terrorists who carried out the recent violence, and Israel has been tracking them carefully. Meanwhile, they have cautioned from the start not to be misled by “moderate” statements.

As Family Research Council President Tony Perkins explained, “Israeli authorities warned as soon as Jalani took over that it was very clear and direct — these are terrorists.”

Hedding agreed, pointing out, “Jalani and his followers might put on suits, but they are still terrorists. And the mass killings that took place over the weekend prove it.”

She continued, “They haven’t demonstrated by their actions that they are in any way democratic. In fact, Jalani has now dissolved Syria’s Constitution. He’s made himself a dictator. He was supposed to present an interim constitution on the 1st of March. He’s now saying it’s delayed. So, there’s no legitimate constitution at the moment. There’s an interim government that has jihadis from Idlib inside of it, as well as foreign fighters that are loyal to HTS. This is a scary scenario for Israel.”

Hedding continues to monitor the ongoing upheaval in Syria. She concludes, “Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been clear from the beginning of these brutal attacks. The U.S. State Department has released a statement that the United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis that murdered people in western Syria in recent days, and that they stand in support of religious and ethnic minorities. And this is exactly what Israel has been saying as well.”

“My hope,” Charmaine explained, “is that we will be able to protect those at risk, to support the southern area of Syria so close to Israel, as well as Northeast Syria, where the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) is run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This is the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria — also unofficially known as Rojava. And this is where the U.S. forces are located.”

She concluded, “Let’s pray that we will be able to work together to block this Turkish-backed terrorist expansion!”