Photo courtesy of FreedomHouse

QUSAYR, Syria (WordNews.org) June 14, 2012 – Thousands of Christians fled Qusayr after being given an ultimatum by opposition military chief as well as leaders in local mosques, according to the ministry Barnabas Aid.
Most of the western city’s 10,000 Christian residents have left and mosque leadership have told the 1,000 who remain to leave.
Local sources said that Islamic extremists within the opposition consider Christians “infidels”, confiscate their belongings and carry out mass executions, Barnabas Aid reported.
However, government opponents deny any ultimatum, Barnabas Aid said. In a statement said to be from the rebel leadership in the city, they said that they had “lived together with our beloved Christian brothers and sisters for decades, working together and living alongside one another.”
Barnabas Aid said Christians are vulnerable in anti-government strongholds because they are viewed as supporters of President Assad. That is because Christians had considerable freedom under Assad’s regime.
Barnabas Aid said the city is an extremely dangerous place for those who remain. A church minister, Qusayr is around 15 miles from Homs, another key battleground site that has been the center of intense clashes between President Assad’s troops and opposition forces for months. Almost the entirety of the 50,000-60,000 Christian population of Homs has fled as a result of heavy fighting there, Barnabas Aid said.