How many Christian's are even left in Syria? 300K? 100K?
No idea if the below is remotely accurate:
RCD: 1916 map of Syria may not hold.Quote:
Prior to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Christians represented roughly 10 percent of the population, which translated to around 1.5 million people. Today that number stands at around 300,000, many of whom left due to constant fighting and economic stagnation, i.e., the same reasons millions of other Syrians have fled. Others, however, have abandoned Syria because of persecution and violence at the hands of radical jihadist groups that make up a significant part of the rebel coalition.
My prediction is this will descend into some fighting/massacres among the groups over the next month or two, followed by calls for a 'peacekeeping force' to enter the 'country' to calm things down and end starvation etc. Zero doubt the Turks would move forces south, and the Israeli's toward Damascus (only 10 miles away as of this am?), in such a scenario. The Jihadi's would really have little luck against either professional military, imho.Quote:
The boundaries of Syria were set following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, along with Jordan, Trans-Jordan, Lebanon and the British mandate of Palestine. The lines on the map drawn Mark Sykes and Georges Picot in a secret agreement in 1916, known as the Picot-Sykes Agreement, in anticipation of victory over the Turkish Ottoman Empire. It did not remain secret for long with Russia publicly releasing the documents to the protagonists and participants alike, laying bare British and French ambitions for the region.
Like many European borders drawn before and after the First World War, lines on maps did not match the population already present. The agreement initially saw the formation of one or more Arab states, conditional on Arab forces capturing Damascus, Homas, Hama and Aleppo.
A glimpse into the possible future, may be provided by revisiting the past. On 1 October 1918, Damascus was occupied by Sharifian militias, followed by Bedouin, Druze and the city descended into anarchy. Amongst those vying for influence and future control were wealthy Christians, the Hashemites, who would later form the Kingdom of Jordan with British support, and Prince Faisal, who would go on to become Faisal I, King of Iraq until his death in 1933. To further add to the cast was the Hejazi Arab Army of the South led by T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).
Today, at least initially, there appears to be a retention of the instruments of state with public statements by state media of the need for calm and indicating a transition of power. In 1918, there was no continuity in the business of government. Anarchy descended upon the city. Prisoners were released from prisons, there was a period of looting, and Turkish soldiers remaining in the city were massacred. Unlike the current situation, the fall of Damascus was part of a British campaign through Palestine. Peace came to Damascus when General Harry Chauvel and his Desert Mounted Corps entered the city.
The IDF has also certainly not been sitting by and watching SAA equipment and munitions to fall into jihadi hands over the past 24 hours:Quote:
The initial signs of an orderly transition of power are positive. But the likelihood is that the disparate forces that banded together to overthrow the Assad regime will struggle to maintain a coherent purpose without the intervention and support of a major power. There is no Allenby British Army on the outskirts of Damascus ready to move in and restore order.
What there is, in the absence of brutal totalitarianism (which may yet emerge), is a lack of coherent purpose. The lines that were drawn on the map a century ago by Sykes and Picot have little meaning for the northern Sunni, the eastern Shia, the Druze to the south or the Alawite on the Mediterranean coast. There simply is no great purpose in a nation called Syria within borders drawn by European diplomats at the fall of the Ottoman Empire. There may yet be a nation called Kurdistan somewhere in the Levant. It is not the fall of Damascus that we should focus onit is what will happen next, and what Turkiye and Israel will do with the troublesome lands between their borders.
IDF hit more than 300 Syrian regime targets in two days, ‘effectively wiping out air force’
— Jewish News Syndicate (@JNS_org) December 10, 2024
(Video reportedly shows IAF strikes near Syrian port of Latakia overnight / source X)https://t.co/iRFDAneZXD pic.twitter.com/optXPCSv8G
No idea if the below is remotely accurate:
Israeli Army Radio, citing a senior security source: We destroyed the capabilities of the Syrian army in the largest air operation we have carried out in our history https://t.co/OqakiZena5 pic.twitter.com/gMg4GD0Wyw
— Liveuamap MiddleEast (@lummideast) December 10, 2024