Christians made up about 10% of Syria’s population before that nation’s protracted civil war; today, they make up less than 2%. There were 1.5 million Christians in Syria in 2011 and 300,000 in 2022.

“‘Unpredictable’ future for Syria’s dwindling Christians: Monitor,” Rudaw, December 7, 2024:

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syria is being emptied of its Christian population as a staggering more that two-thirds have left since the onset of the brutal civil war and the remaining face an “unpredictable” future, an Assyrian rights monitor said on Sunday.

“Syria is almost emptied of the Christian component, and this is the biggest disaster,” Jamil Diyarbakirli, director of the Sweden-based Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights, told Rudaw. “More than two-thirds of Syrian Christians have fled the country.”

Diyarbakirli described the future of Syria’s Christians as “unpredictable,” but said that “no violations have occurred against Christians so far” in the ongoing offensive by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists against the Syrian government that has seen the rebels take control of key cities such as Hama and Aleppo, the largest in the country and home to a significant Christian minority.

“Things seem to be in order this time, and there is an international green light to prevent any violations against citizens that affect their lives and security,” he said.

Syria’s Christian population, which was an estimated 10 percent of the total before the conflict, has largely supported the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the civil war erupted in 2011. The president marketed himself as a protector of minority communities in the face of jihadists.

According to Diyarbakirli, over 4,000 Christians have been killed since the civil war began. He blamed all parties for their deaths including the regime, the opposition, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)….