We have been informed by local sources in Syria that some shop owners in the city of Safita, in the coastal Syrian province of Tartous, were surprised today to find posters in their stores inciting the killing of Christians and describing them as people of misguidance and cross-worshippers.
The aforementioned leaflets were issued by a group calling itself the “Sunni Brigade,” praising the current president and claiming to follow his example. They described him as the “conqueror of the walls of the Levant,” calling him “Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Julani,” and wishing him success.
The same leaflets pointed to the necessity of returning “Sham” to the Umayyad era and the use of violence against dissenters from other sects. This constitutes a serious threat to the lives of members of religious minorities in the new Syria, which is intended to be considered a normal state within the international community. This requires the international community not to turn a blind eye to legal and humanitarian aspects and to monitor the extent to which the new authorities respect and protect minority rights as an integral part of the human rights system in general.
