Dec 13, 2024
Tens of thousands of Syrians from various minority groups have fled their villages and made their way to the Lebanese border in fear of the extremist groups who just took over Syria days ago after the lightning offensive that led to the fall of president Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Around 90,000 Syrian citizens have entered Lebanon since the collapse of the Assad government, according to a report released by Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on 13 December – which cites security sources in Lebanon.
The official number who entered Lebanon from Syria since Assad’s government fell on Sunday does not exceed 7,000, excluding the thousands of displaced people who entered via illegal crossings – bringing the number closer to 90,000.
“The majority of them are from minorities who were residing in areas controlled by the regime, such as the vicinity of the Sayyida Zaynab shrine and the countryside of Homs and Hama, all the way to the Lebanese border, and they decided to leave. Some of them spoke of being subjected to threats, while others denied this, but they have great concerns,” the security sources said.
A small number of Syrians have resided in Beirut, while others have entered Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region. Many are also reported to still be stranded along the border.
The eastern Lebanese city of Hermel has seen Syrians take refuge from the Qusayr, Matarba, and Rablah areas in Syria, as well as Nubl and Zahraa – two Shia towns in the Aleppo countryside that were besieged by Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the extremist forces which led the incursion on Syria and entered Damascus on 8 December.
Some of the displaced Syrians have reported being attacked or asked to leave by the extremist militant groups.
Since the fall of Damascus, HTS has publicly vowed that minority groups and all religious sanctities would be protected by the new government appointed by the former Al-Qaeda branch. While no mass slaughter of minorities has taken place, as seen in previous years of the Syrian war, many are skeptical and fearful.
The Nusra Front was responsible for many atrocities against Christians, Alawites, Shias, and Druze – which included suicide bombings, executions, kidnappings, indiscriminate shelling, and other war crimes.
The Turkish proxy – the Syrian National Army (SNA) force – that also joined HTS in its assault against Syria that began on 27 November has incorporated scores of ISIS fighters and commanders into its ranks over the years.
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