By French humanitarian NGO SOS Chrétiens d’Orient (SOSCO) claims to support persecuted Christians in Syria and the wider Middle East without interfering in conflicts or local politics.
But in reality, the seven-year-old NGO, founded by far-right, conservative, Catholic activists, thinly veils its agenda to amplify Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s propaganda and push for a normalization of diplomatic relationships between Damascus and EU countries.
SOS Chretiens d'Orient member with Assad militia in Syria
Alexandre Goodarzy, SOSCO’s chief of mission in Syria (left), Benjamin Blanchard, SOSCO’s director general (center), and Simon al-Wakil (right), NDF commander in Maharda, in 2017.Using open-source analysis and extensive reporting, the 8-month investigation reveals that SOSCO’s Syrian operations have provided support to Christian militias fighting for Assad that have been accused of multiple war crimes. The NGO’s support could make it complicit in these crimes.
The French NGO also works with charities linked to the Syrian regime, sometimes even funding them. One such organisation is led by Asma al-Assad, Bashar’s wife, who is now under U.S. sanctions for her critical role in supporting the regime crackdown against peaceful protests and funding the regime’s security apparatus.
While working on small-scale projects in regime-held areas, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient also runs an extensive PR campaign designed to portray Bashar al-Assad as the defender of Christian minorities, whitewashing and even denying his extensive list of crimes against humanity.
Sources: Intell
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