The once thriving community has been in limbo since Syrian rebels launched late last month a military offensive that led to the ouster of the country’s longtime President Bashar al-Assad.
An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Syrian Armenians still live in Aleppo. Even before capturing Damascus at the weekend, the rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist militant group assured them that it will protect and not discriminate against the Christian minority.
A spokeswoman for the Aleppo diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has long been representing the local community, said that while the security concerns of its members have been seemingly addressed for now, they are increasingly grappling with the economic fallout from the recent fighting. Maria Gabrielian said that because of the continuing chaos in the country many of them have trouble reopening their small businesses or earning a living otherwise.
Gabrielian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the diocese has provided $35 worth of one-off financial aid to every Armenian family in Aleppo. The money will support them for just a few days, she said.
“We would like you to ask the Armenian government in what ways they can assist Syrian Armenians so that we find out,” added Gabrielian.
The government evacuated Armenia’s consulate in Aleppo and embassy in Damascus as the rebel offensive progressed rapidly. It has announced no plans to reopen the diplomatic missions following the formation of a new, interim government of Syria.
“It's not that the government could do something but doesn’t,” said Zareh Sinanian, Armenia’s high commissioner for Diaspora affairs. “The situation was developing very quickly, it was fluid, and the government, like everyone else, didn't even have a realistic chance to respond.”
Sinanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that shortly before the fall of Damascus the government bought air tickets for 14 Syrian Armenian families that fled Aleppo and were scheduled to fly to Yerevan on December 14. He said the flight has not been cancelled by a Syrian airline operating it and may still go ahead as planned.