Since Thursday there has been fighting in the coastal area of Syria which was previously the stronghold of former President Assad and has a predominantly Alawite population, although there are also Christians and others living there.
That fighting appears to have been between HTS who now control the major population centres of western Syria including Damascus and former members of the Assad regime who are predominantly Alawites, some of whom have begun an armed insurgency. This has possibly been prompted by the announcement made by the HTS leadership at the end of January, and previously reported by the Lindisfarne Centre, that they will now form the government for the next 3-5 years, instead of handing over in March this year as they had previously promised, as well as dissolving the constitution and all arms of the previous government including the police and army.
The fighting has reportedly not only killed more than 200 on each side, but has also led to a high number of civilian deaths. Whilst it is not clear how many of these were caught in crossfire, reports on the ground suggest that some at least are reprisal killings of those formerly loyal to the Assad regime. There are also reports of uninvolved civilians – both Alawites and Christians fleeing for safety.
Some western media have implied that there have been massacres of Christians. The Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution would urge caution in reporting until the events on the ground are clearer, not least because it is currently difficult to verify reported incidents in many parts of Syria.
The facts as we have them are as follows 
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented 29 incidents of civilians being killed in various locations which range from 2 deaths to 123.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch is reported by local media to have said in a sermon in Damascus on Saturday that those killed included some Christians. However, we do not know how many Christians were killed or why they were killed – which could be because a) they were accidentally caught up in either crossfire or the targeted killing of others; b) they were targeted because they previously worked for the Assad regime c) they were targeted specifically because they were Christians. 
On Sunday the Patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church issued a joint statement condemning the massacres and calling for an immediate end to such horrific acts. However, it did NOT make any suggestion that Christians had been specifically targeted.
We do not yet have any clearer idea of what has happened to Christians in the area.
What has happened – with the killing of more than 800 civilians has been an enormous tragedy.
It would also be a tragedy if premature or possibly inaccurate reporting were to distract from the very real risks Christians face from the new regime in Syria – which the Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution has previously highlighted and is leaving many Syrian Christians living in real fear. 
We would therefore urge caution until it becomes clear how many Christians have been killed and the reasons they have been killed.