The flag of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime remains the standard emoji design across most, if not all platforms. But a new flag flies over Damascus and the rest of a now-free Syria.

The Syriac Catholic patriarch said the situation in Syria "continues to be humanly unbearable and devastating" and risks emptying the war-torn country of its Christian community for good.

Syriac Church Leader Says Christian Fighters Scramble to Defend Town as ISIS Advance Published Nov 10, 2015 at 9:08 AM EST Updated Apr 30, 2016 at 5:15 PM EDT Mor Ignatius Aphrem Karim II visits ...

Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch Ignace Joseph III Younan (center) celebrates Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption in Aleppo, Syria May 16, 2021. (photo: Courtesy photos / Syriac ...

A youth displays a Syrian opposition flag as he drives along the Umayyad Square in Damascus. Credit: AP It later became the national flag when Syria became independent in 1946.

Syriac-Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Youssef III Younan tells the Register that the existence of his Church is imperiled in war-wracked Syria and Iraq.

The Syriac Catholic patriarch said the situation in Syria “continues to be humanly unbearable and devastating” and risks emptying the war-torn country of its Christian community for good.