President Emmanuel Macron of France greeted the Sunni Islamist new leader of Syria (Ahmed al-Sharaa) with open arms.
The meeting in Paris comes at a time when a recent pogrom by Sunni Islamists against Alawites killed approximately 1,700 people. Some Christians were also killed.
The Independent reported in March, “Mr Sharaa’s forces and rival groups have killed at least 1,200 civilians, most of them Alawites, in Latakia, Tatous (Tartous), Hama and Homs provinces, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The toll rose this week after 132 civilians were killed on Tuesday, the UK-based monitoring group said.”
It emerged that approximately 1,700 people were killed by Sunni Islamists in this pogrom (primarily aimed at killing Alawites).
Sunni Islamists supporting the ruling elites of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria are seen on video laughing while searching for Alawites to kill. Hence, this highlights that the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda mentality of sectarian hatred exists within HTS.
Indeed, only last week, the Druze faced the same Sunni Islamist sword. All these acts were committed by Sunni Islamist groups with links to the current leader of Syria. Therefore, irrespective of Macron hiding behind words, it is clear that the current leader of France is focused on economic deals and geopolitics.
Macron informed al-Sharaa, “You must do everything to assure the protection of all Syrians without exception… The crimes have profoundly shocked the friends of Syria.”
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Article URL : https://moderntokyotimes.com/france-and-syria-macron-meets-islamist-leader-alawites-christians-and-druze-in-fear/