“No one knows the end” of deadly violence in Syria, says archbishop

“No one knows the end” of recent deadly violence in Syria, said Maronite Archbishop Antoine Chbair of Latakia and Tartus.

At least 800, mostly civilians, have been killed since 6 March as Syria’s security forces battled armed supporters of former Syria president Bashar al-Assad.

Following the fall of the brutal Assad regime, Syria is now grappling with what Archbishop Chbair has called “sectarian strife.”

More than three quarters of those killed in the clashes were civilians, according to the Beirut office of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.

Archbishop Chbair told CNEWA that “around 80 Christians were killed throughout these clashes.” He noted that the archeparchy had opened its “parish in Banias for Alawites and Christians to hide from military factions.”

CNEWA also quoted Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Georges Khawam of Latakia and Tartus, who lamented that “there is no safety” in Syria, and that the nation is “heading toward chaos and security breakdown.”

In a 10 March interview with Reuters, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa pledged that all responsible for violence would be held accountable as the nation seeks unity.