Latakia is host to several segments of Syria’s minority communities, including Alawites and Christians [OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images]
Leaders within Syria’s Christian community have pushed back against claims that Christians were being targeted in mass killings and violence in Syria’s coastal regions.
The denials came in response to widely circulated social media posts which accused armed groups of carrying out “massacres” against Christians in Latakia and Tartus – claims that have since been debunked.
Notable figures including Swedish journalist Peter Sweden, Australian politician George Christensen, and US commentator Tucker Carlson had amplified allegations that Christians were being slaughtered, churches burned, and priests executed. The claims gained further traction online when Elon Musk reposted one of the statements, asking: “How many people are being killed?”
However, Christian leaders in Syria have firmly rejected these reports. The Pastors of Christian Churches in Latakia released a statement on Saturday denying any systematic targeting of Christians.
The statement said that a meeting had taken place between church leaders and a delegation from the General Security Department, where concerns about the violence were raised.
“During this meeting, the concerns, impressions, and suffering of our people these days were conveyed to the leadership,” the statement said. It also denied claims that Latakia’s churches had opened their halls to shelter refugees, adding: “The current situation in the city of Latakia does not require such measures.”
Similarly, the Apostolic Vicariate of the Latin Community in Syria issued a statement on Friday expressing support for the Syrian state in its fight against loyalists of the Assad regime.
The Vicariate denounced the recent violence and called for peace, saying: “Along with all our faithful, we pray for a just and comprehensive peace across the region, especially for our beloved Syria.”
Meanwhile, the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) said that three Christians were killed in the ongoing violence, including a father and son from an evangelical church in Latakia who were reportedly shot in their car, as well as the father of a priest in Banias.
ACN also reported widespread looting affecting all communities, including Christians, with some forced to seek shelter in the homes of Sunni friends.
The ACN’s statement was accompanied by comments from both the Apostolic Vicariate of the Latin Community in Syria and Patriarch John X of the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus, who condemned the violence and urged the Syrian government to take immediate action.
Meanwhile, Verify Syria (Ta’akkad) — a platform dedicated to countering misinformation — debunked several social media claims regarding Christian casualties. These included false reports that Syrian forces had executed a priest named Yohanna Boutros, whose existence was denied by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
While Verify Syria confirmed the killing of a priest’s father in Banias, it dismissed rumours of a mass killing inside a Bania’s church.
The fighting on Syria’s coast has resulted in the deaths of 779 people, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR). These figures include 172 personnel from the interim government who were killed by forces loyal to the Assad regime, which also killed 211 civilians.
SNHR added that a total of 396 people were killed by personnel of the interim government, a figure that includes disarmed fighters and civilians.
On Sunday, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa called for national unity and confirmed that a committee had been formed to investigate the widespread violations on the coast with the aim of prosecuting those responsible.
