Syrian Christians are calling on the United States to help protect them after Turkish troops were seen gathering on the border between the two volatile nations.
The Syriac Military Council, which is supported by the United States government, has warned of a potential Turkish offensive on the Eastern Euphrates River region in Syria, which would put thousands of Christians at risk.
“The Turkish army started to remove the wall between Turkey and Northern Syria in the Tal-Abyad area,” the military council said in a statement. “Turkey has amassed its forces and its jihadist proxies at that point. It clearly aims to invade Northern Syria.”
The authority told the Catholic News Service that there is “no U.S. military presence,” in the area where military forces are taking up position – something that is extremely concerning for the region’s Christians.
“Anywhere these troops come inside northeast Syria will be tragic, like in Afrin,” Syriac Christian political leader Bassam Ishak told the outlet. Last year, Turkish-led forces captured the town of Afrin, forcing out many of the Christian-majority population.
Ishak added that the safe zone Turkey has proposed includes “areas where Kurds and Christians live.”
“If Turkish forces come in, the expectation is that they will push out the inhabitants and turn the region over to…
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