The mass killings of Christians in Syria after the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad are not warfare but are "murderous barbarism" that must be brought to a halt, Gerald Murray, the pastor of Saint Joseph's Church in New York City, said on Newsmax Sunday.

"What's going on here in Syria is revenge killing, ethnic cleansing, attacking Christians in the northwest part of the country," Murray told Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda." "This is absurd. This is a crime. The government says that we should have peace. The government should stop it."

More than 1,000 people were reportedly killed in coastal Syria over the weekend in the worst clashes that have been seen since the former president was removed from office, with violence breaking out Thursday.  ​​

But Murray told Newsmax that there have been Syrians "going into houses, slaughtering children."

"They're dropping bodies in the streets," he said. "They're terrorizing the people."

He added that new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa at one time was on the U.S. terrorist watchlist and had a $10 million reward on his head. 

"And now the government, the U.S., is dealing with him and all the rest," said Murray. "But you deal with him from a point of strength; call him and say, You stop this now. We did not stand by while you got rid of one dictator and then turned into murderous fiends, killing Alawites and Druze and Christians."

Murray said Christians in the United States are in solidarity with their brothers and sisters worldwide, particularly in the Middle East. 

There is also "terrible violence" in Africa, said Murray, pointing out that more Christians were killed in Nigeria than anywhere else last year. 

"This again, unfortunately, is Islamic-fueled violence by Islamist fiends who go into Christian villages and kill people, kidnap priests and the like," he said.

"What was the U.N. set up for? It was set up to promote peace and to guarantee human rights. Why isn't the U.N. in emergency session right now to discuss the fact that there is this vengeful, genocidal violence going on in Syria?"

The U.N., he said, should tell the Syrian government that if it wants international support and respectability, "this must end right now."

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