Christians

COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: June 2025

Christians had been subjected to persecution (e.g. killing, kidnapping) by the Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). In Kurdish-controlled areas, ethno-religious minorities were generally able to openly express and exercise their religious beliefs, including converting to other religion. However, there were reports of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) subjecting Christians to discrimination in relation to the school curriculum.

While no recent information could be found on the treatment of Christians by the Assad regime prior to its fall, any potential risk related to the Assad regime has vanished.

While under HTS rule in Idlib before the fall of the Assad regime, homes and properties of Christians were confiscated and the number of Christians living in the area dropped significantly, the Transitional Administration has pledged to uphold minority rights. However, recent changes in the school curriculum by the Transitional Administration concern civil society activists and reports indicate a rise in targeted incidents against Christian communities.

Therefore, it can be concluded that:

Some acts reported to be committed against individuals under this profile are of such severe nature that they amount to persecution (e.g. killing, kidnapping). When the acts in question are (solely) discriminatory measures, the individual assessment of whether discrimination could amount to persecution should take into account the severity and/or repetitiveness of the acts or whether they occur as an accumulation of various measures.

The individual assessment of whether there is a reasonable degree of likelihood for individuals under this profile to face persecution should take into account risk-impacting circumstances such as: regional specifics (in particular, Christians in areas where ISIL operates are at higher risk), being critical to the Transitional Administration or of the school curriculum, etc. For further information on how these circumstances impact the risk, refer to the COI summary in ‘EUAA, '4.10.5. Christians' in Country Guidance: Syria, April 2024’.

Where well-founded fear of persecution is substantiated for an applicant under this profile, this is highly likely to be for reasons of religion and/or (imputed) political opinion’.