Intel: US watchdog calls on State Department to add Syria to list of religious freedom violators
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should designate Syria as one of the world’s worst religious freedom offenders and put Iraq, Turkey and Egypt on a special watch list, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended in its annual report.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should designate Syria as one of the world’s worst religious freedom offenders and put Iraq, Turkey and Egypt on a special watch list, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended in its annual report.
The bipartisan, independent watchdog called on the US State Department Tuesday to expand its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), which currently includes Iran, China, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. USCIRF recommended new CPC designations for India, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam and Syria.
Syria’s majority Sunni population accounts for most of the victims of President Bashar al-Assad’s nine-year-long campaign to crush the opposition, including the recent Russian-backed government offensive in opposition-held Idlib province.
Syria is also home to Alawis, Shia Muslims, Druze and a small number of Jews and Christians. The report notes ongoing violations against those minorities by radical groups including the Islamic State (IS) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
