Syrian rebels steal food aid from Christians; watchdog warns of ‘ethnic cleansing’

Dec 11, 2024 by Dave Doveton

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post.

Islamist-led rebel forces seized humanitarian aid that could have fed tens of thousands of people as Christians in Syria grapple with the reality of their dangerous situation, which watchdog groups have warned amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Global Christian Relief, a United States-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, has maintained a supportive network on the ground in Syria for the last two years. GCR President and CEO David Curry told The Christian Post that the group delivered food and humanitarian supplies to churches around two weeks ago.

“We’ve continuously been delivering aid the last two years, but the stock that we have now, some of it has been captured by these rebels,” Curry said. “There’s still some that remains; we’re going to distribute that as cautiously as we possibly can to people who are now on the run, but the reality is this is a very dangerous area right now for Christians.”

The aid that the rebels stole a few weeks ago contained food that could have fed about 20,000 people, as well as water and medicine, Curry shared.

Aleppo has always historically been what Curry described as the “center for Christian faith in Syria.” Noting that the Christian population has been declining, he predicted that the trend will continue as fewer believers feel safe in the area.

The “so-called ‘opposition forces,'” Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, are a “reconstructed remnant” of Islamic extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. Over the weekend, HTS led rebels in capturing Damascus a week after the takeover of Aleppo and Hama that resulted in the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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