ISTANBUL
Syria’s Interior Ministry on Sunday dismissed reports circulating online that Christians in the western town of Qusayr in Homs province were being singled out in a wave of arrests and forced displacement.
Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din Baba said the allegations, shared by what he called “suspicious social media pages,” were fabricated to spread fear and division, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
He explained that those named in the posts had been summoned previously in connection with criminal cases, including murder, sexual assault and forgery of property records dating back to the former regime of Bashar al-Assad. The cases, he said, are being pursued under the supervision of civilian courts and the public prosecutor.
Baba urged citizens not to be misled by disinformation campaigns designed to fuel sectarian strife and undermine public order.
The denial comes amid efforts by Syria’s new leadership to promote national unity. In August, President Ahmad al-Sharaa met Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi, the country’s most senior Christian cleric, and stressed the role of the church in strengthening coexistence.
Days earlier, the Interior Ministry announced it had foiled a plot by groups linked to the Assad regime to bomb St. Elias Church in Tartus province.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration led by Sharaa was formed in January.