Members of Syria's small Christian community on the coast are living in fear after attacks killed more than 1,000 mostly Alawite civilians, with Christians reportedly caught up in the violence.
"The current conflict in Syria does not concern me, but we are its victims," said Ruwayda, a 36-year-old Christian from the port city of Latakia.
"There's a feeling that no one is protecting us," she told AFP.
"I feel a mix of both fear and anticipation for what lies ahead in Syria, but I feel certain that migration is the only option," she added.
The wave of violence—the worst since former president Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December—erupted in Syria's Alawite heartland on the coast on Thursday.
It began with clashes between gunmen loyal to Assad and the country's new security forces.
What later transpired has been described as a "massacre" in which members of Assad's Alawite minority were targeted.
War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 1,068 civilians—the vast majority Alawites—killed by security forces and allied groups.
There were reports of Christians being caught in the crosshairs.
In a Damascus sermon on Sunday, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X said "many innocent Christians were also killed" alongside Alawites.
Obituaries have been shared on social media for several members of the small Christian community on the coast.
AFP was able to confirm at least seven of these, including for a man and his son, whom an acquaintance said were shot on their way to Latakia.
Another four members of one family were killed in their home in an Alawite-majority neighborhood of the city, and the father of a priest was killed in Baniyas further south, relatives and their churches said.
'Doors locked'
Social media videos have also spread panic, with one showing a fighter speaking in a non-Syrian Arabic dialect threatening Christians as well as Alawites.
One Christian resident of Latakia, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said he and his neighbors "have been staying at home since the start of the escalation with the doors locked for fear that foreign fighters might enter."
All the Christians who spoke to AFP refused to give their full or real names for safety reasons.
Many of the fighters who have staged the attacks since Thursday were not from Syria, according to various accounts.
Analyst Fabrice Balanche said that before the war began in 2011, Syria had about one million Christians, or about five percent of the population.
He said that number shrank to about 300,000 after the majority fled during the civil war.
Despite efforts by the interim president and government to assuage fears, Syria's various minorities, including Christians, have been gripped by dread since the Sunni authorities seized power in December.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa led the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.
HTS was an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Syria and remains proscribed as a terrorist organization by Western governments, including the United States.
'Pale with fear'
By Monday, a sense of relative normalcy had returned to Latakia as security forces erected checkpoints outside Alawite-majority neighborhoods, an AFP correspondent said.
In Sunni and Christian districts, there was near-normal activity, although they lacked their habitual hustle and bustle.
"We are very anxious. People's faces are pale with fear," said Heba, a Christian teacher who used a pseudonym to protect her identity.
"We don't know what the future will bring," the 40-year-old said.
She noted that while Christians had not been targeted directly as Alawites were, people were killed after being caught in crossfire.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the pastors of churches in Latakia urged residents "not to be carried away by rumors.".
The statement sought to send a "message of reassurance" after the pastors met "a delegation from the leadership of the security department.".
Sharaa on Sunday vowed to "hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who was involved in the bloodshed of civilians... or who overstepped the powers of the state.".
But residents such as Gabriel, 37, said this failed to allay deep fears.
"I'm not reassured about my future and I don't dare get married and have children in this place," he said.
"A decade ago I had the chance to migrate to Canada, but I gambled that the situation would improve.
"Today I regret not making use of that opportunity."
With AFP
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