This article was first published by Christianity Today on October 8.
Not long after the defeat of the Islamic State in the area, Syrian Christians warn that US military withdrawal from the Kurdish-controlled region, announced yesterday by President Donald Trump, will expose them to danger.
“The expected military invasion [by Turkey] and the possible confrontation with the Kurds might oblige Christians of the region to leave,” said Joseph Kassab, president of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon. “This means one more tragedy to the Christian presence in Syria.”
Seeking to honor his campaign promises to extract America from “endless war,” Trump yielded to Turkey’s demand to establish a “safe zone” along its southern border with Syria. Since August, the United States and Turkey administered a joint buffer zone patrol in the Kurdish-majority area.
Turkey’s objectives are two-fold. First, to resettle up to 2 million Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey. Second, to clear the border of Kurdish fighters linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), deemed a terrorist entity by both Ankara and Washington. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to establish a 20-mile corridor unilaterally, frustrated by US cooperation with Kurdish fighters belonging to the PKK.
The Kurdish-controlled area of northeast Syria stretches 300 miles from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border. Approximately 750,000 people live there, including estimates of between 40,000 and 100,000 Christians.
Over 700,000 Christians have fled Syria since 2011. And while some warn of further displacement, others fear a greater threat.
“Turkey aims to kill and destroy us and to finish the genocide against our people,” said a statement issued by…
Please click here to read the full article at Christianity Today.
Jayson Casper 
3 replies on “Syrian Christians to US: ‘Don’t Abandon Us Now’”
Dear Jayson,
Thanks again for insightful reporting and comment from the ME.
On the Norwegian scene, many Evangelical Christians continue to see Mr. Trump as a good president for Christians everywhere. Regarding the ME, many use his decision to move the US embassy to Israel to Jerusalem as proof. Letting down a loyal ally like the Kurds goes unnoticed, and leaving vulnerable Christian groups to fend for themselves seems not to register – but they will certainly be used in anti-Islamic propaganda when or if they are indeed hit by the Turks themselves or – more likely, perhaps – by militant groups who will move in to exploit in the power vacuum.
How can it be that moving an embassy to Jerusalem and other ostensibly pro-Israel policies trump (sic!) any other considerations?
Warm regards, Jon Aalborg
> 9. okt. 2019 kl. 07:25 skrev A Sense of Belonging : > > >
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Nice to hear from you again, Jon, and thanks for sharing perspectives from the Norwegian scene.
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What happened to those Syrian Christians after we did pull out?
“Not long after the defeat of the Islamic State in the area, Syrian Christians warn that US military withdrawal from the Kurdish-controlled region, announced yesterday by President Donald Trump, will expose them to danger.”
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