Northeast Syrian Minorities Seeking to Preserve Free Enclave Ask for Western Help against Turkey, Christians' Prayers

JERUSALEM, Israel – Just days after the fall of the Assad Government in Syria, the region is adjusting to the new realities on the ground.

One area inside Syria could be ground zero for another battle between Western values and Islamic ambitions.

While the leader of the main faction of Syria’s rebel forces is pledging no new war, a democratic enclave in northeast Syria that is home to Kurds, Yazidis, and Christians is being attacked by a proxy army of Turkey.

CBN News spoke with a Christian from northeast Syria by phone. To protect his identity, we’ve disguised his voice and can’t show his face.  We’re calling him “Gabriel.”

Gabriel told us, "So, yeah, we are under attack, and we don't think that (Turkish President) Erdogan and his proxies are going to stop (attacking) in this place in the north.”

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you receive the latest updates and news alerts.***

The Autonomous Administration in Northeast Syria is unique in all of the Middle East. CBN News reported on the then-fledgling government in a 2019 report.

In that report, freelance journalist Karlos Zurutuza told us, “It's completely new – completely new in the Middle East, and I'd say it's completely new in the whole world.”

Zurutuza added, "So literally from day one, since 2012 – since they liberated their territories – they are in the process of reconstructing civil society, integrated their components in the region; not just Kurds. It's Arabs, Armenians, Syriacs.”

During the war to defeat ISIS, the Autonomous Administration partnered with the U.S. and allied forces.

Charmaine Hedding, founder of the Shai Fund, an organization that helps people groups in volatile situations, explained, "They are most similar in human rights to what we believe in the West. And critically, they have freedom of religion and belief, and an overrepresentation of religious minorities. So, what's happened is they stand in direct opposition to these jihadi, Islamist groups.  And so today, we are seeing the Sunni is being used as the militia to break down and attack northeast Syria.”

The Autonomous Administration fears the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has stated his intention to defeat the Kurds of northeast Syria.

Given the attacks by Turkish-backed forces and Erdogan's threats, the people of northeast Syria are calling out to the U.S. and the West, and the Christian world for help.  

“We call on all the Christians in the world to call their nations and brothers and sisters in their administration to make the Christians, the Kurds and Druze, and all minorities to be able to protect themselves from these kinds of atrocities,” Gabriel told us.

He claims Northeast Syria is not asking for foreign troops, but for the resources to defend themselves.

“Especially (for the) Trump administration and the Israeli government to make this happen because, Christians all over Syria, Christians all over Lebanon, all over Iraq, they want to survive," he declared.

Gabriel continued, “We are demanding to survive in our fatherland, to speak to our family, our language, and to be able to represent our religion, which is the ancient Christian, really ancient Christian religion, and speak freely our Aramaic language, which was the language of Jesus. We call especially America to stop Turkey from invading the project of Northeast Syria.” 

Hedding believes it's important to pray for this emerging Middle East democracy.

“Because in this area you have people who can believe whatever they want. Christians, Yazidis, (and) even Muslim background believers who have come to faith in Jesus are able to practice their religion in this area. So, pray for northeast Syria that it will remain stable and that the international community would stand and back northeast Syria against these Islamist jihadis.”