Warning: this story contains graphic photos.
More than 7,000 religious minorities, most of them Christians and Alawites, have been slaughtered in Syria since March 6, according to Greek City Times. A harsh Islamic terror group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has taken control over much of the country since fall of long-time president Bashar al Assad.
In The Associated Press photo at the top, responders collect bodies of the dead.
HTS (shown right) is a designated terrorist group according to the United Nations Security Council. The killings are part ethnic cleaning and also part revenge against those loyal to Assad and not new interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former ISIS member.
The church has faced persecution since its inception, Dr. Al Mohler said on Washington Watch recently.
“Persecution in the 21st century is as real as persecution in the first century as reflected in the New Testament,” he told show host Tony Perkins.
He says American Christians are not given a choice of how to respond.
“It's a pre-political obligation for Christians to contend for Christians and to work for the safety of Christians in other parts of the world suffering persecution,” he said.
Thousands of Syrian Christians have sought refuge at a Russian air base in Syria since the weekend violence.
According to satellite imagery reviewed by The New York Times, they have found safety at the base in Hmeimim and at Latakia International Airport to escape the unrest in the coastal region.
The coastal areas of Tartus and Latakia are home to the Alawite community, a small Shia Islamic sect to which the Assad family belongs. They are also the target of attacks, NBC reports.
Most hostile governments
Mohler says there are two prominent types of governments that are responsible for most of the Christian persecution.
“No. 1, communism and communist regimes such as continue to be fully represented in North Korea and China, and then Islam. Islamic dominated nations tend to be extremely, extremely dangerous for Christian witness,” he said.
And we have as special responsibility.
“We're one of the few forces of good in the world that can make a difference speaking into these issues,” Mohler said.
