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A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION encouraging President Donald Trump and the 1
United States Congress to end the Syrian genocide of Christians and Alawites. 2
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2024, rebel forces led by Islamist militant group 3
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria after a 10-day 4
offensive; and 5
WHEREAS, HTS assumed power, forming a transitional government led by the 6
group's former leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa; and 7
WHEREAS, since assuming power, revenge killings have occurred throughout 8
Syria, with the highest concentration of killings occurring in the governorates of Latakia 9
and Tartus; and 10
WHEREAS, on March 6, 2025, a deadly massacre of Syrians, primarily Alawites, 11
but also Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities, occurred as a result of the 12
armed clashes between the transitional government and armed members of the former 13
Assad regime; and 14
WHEREAS, most of the killings have targeted members of the Alawite community. 15
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in early March 2025, Syrian 16
security forces killed hundreds over the span of two days, including 52 Alawite 17
individuals in the towns of Al-Mukhtariya and Al-Shir in rural Latakia alone; and 18
WHEREAS, Alawite residents, in fear for their lives, have either fled Syria or are 19
too afraid to leave their homes. According to the United Nations, almost 11,000 Syrians 20
have fled to Lebanon since the violence began in early March 2025. Of those who remain 21
in Syria, an account by a survivor stated, "The streets are empty. No one dares go outside. 22
All of us here cannot sleep from fear that we will be killed in our beds."; and 23
WHEREAS, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, since March 6, 24
2025, more than 1,000 people including Christian minorities and Alawites have been 25
killed; and 26
WHEREAS, Christians in Syria and around the world are deeply concerned about 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 2050
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the fate of Christians in Syria. In the words of Wendy Wright, president of Christian 1
Freedom International, "Christians in Syria are afraid that when Islamists finish off the 2
Alawites, they will go after Christians. Christians in Syria do not have any weapons to 3
defend themselves. They are not meeting together or going out of their homes."; and 4
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2025, Christian Solidarity International issued a 5
genocide warning for Syria; and 6
WHEREAS, Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed the new 7
government will respect all communities and affiliations; and 8
WHEREAS, the United States is the largest single donor to the humanitarian 9
response in Syria, providing over $12.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable 10
individuals in the country; and 11
WHEREAS, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that the United 12
States stands with religious and ethnic minorities in Syria, and that "interim authorities 13
must hold the perpetrators of these massacres... accountable"; 14
NOW, THEREFORE, 15
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 16
Kentucky, the House of Representatives concurring therein: 17
Section 1. President Donald Trump and the United States Congress are 18
encouraged to end the genocide of Christians and Alawites in Syria. 19
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 20
Resolution to President Donald Trump, the Speaker of the United States House of 21
Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and each member of 22
the Kentucky Congressional delegation. 23