In the midst of the civil war, churches and Christian-owned businesses have been targets of bombings by the Islamic State and other extremist groups, and there have been many reports of Christians being abducted, harmed and killed. Even so, many of Syria’s remaining Christians are committed to staying and rebuilding their country. Others are now returning home following IS’s military defeat.
UN warns of Syria ‘genocide’
A UN diplomat has warned that if the violence in Syria continues at its present rate, there is a “risk of genocide”. Mokhtar Lamani, who worked with the UN during both the Balkans war and Rwanda, told the BBC that Alawites and Christians were at most risk, and that over […]
Viewpoint: A troubling call from Syria
Nuri Kino is a Sweden-based independent investigative reporter, filmmaker, author, Middle East and human-rights analyst. His report, titled ‘The Camp‘, which examined the construction of a massive refugee camp for Syrian Christians inside Turkey, appeared on May 5 at World Watch Monitor. Aug. 26 Early this morning I received a phone […]
Italian priest still unaccounted for in Syria
Conflicting reports are emerging about the whereabouts and welfare of an Italian Jesuit priest who went missing almost one month ago. Reuters reported on July 29 that Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio had been abducted by Islamists with links to Al-Qaeda in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, but the Vatican would […]
What caused Syria’s civil war?
Throughout its history, ancient and modern, Syria has played host to ethnic and religious minorities living together very much in harmony. Syria, in the original sense of what is now known as “Greater Syria”, encompassed much of the Levant – today’s states of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, plus a […]
Italian priest ‘kidnapped’ in Syria
An Italian Jesuit priest has been abducted in Syria by Islamists with links to al-Qaeda, Reuters has reported. Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio was reportedly kidnapped on Monday (July 29) in the rebel-held eastern Syrian city of Raqqa, which, Reuters says, has fallen under the control of militant Islamists. However, the Vatican […]
Syrian priest calls for end of ‘folly’
A Syrian priest was killed on Sunday (June 23) in an attack on a convent by militants linked to the jihadi group, Jabhat al-Nusra, according to Fides. Another priest, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told the Catholic Herald that Ghassanieh, the village where Francois Murad died, “like other Christian villages, has been almost […]
Syrian Christians caught in crossfire
Syria has been torn apart by a conflict lasting more than two years.flickr.com/freedomhouse Syrian Christians are the victims of disproportionate violence and abuse as sectarian violence continues to engulf Syria, says a new report. Christian women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, while Christian men are facing pressure from both […]
Iraqi MP: Syria collapse would endanger all Mideast Christians
The collapse of the Syrian state would be a jihadist triumph and a threat to Christians throughout the Middle East, says Yonadam Kanna, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly and Secretary General for the Assyrian Democratic Movement. Assyrians are an ancient ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East, and […]
Syriac church torched
A group with links to al-Qaeda set fire on June 19 to al-Wahdah Syriac church in Syria’s eastern city of Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Arab News Agency is reporting. SANA, citing information from “an official source”, reported the responsible group is “an armed group affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra”. The United […]
Kidnapped archbishops ‘in good health’
Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, the Syrian archbishops kidnapped last month, are being held in a village near Aleppo and are in good health, according to Ibrahim’s nephew Jamil Diarbakerli. The archbishops’ driver Fathallah Kaboud was later killed, while Diarbakerli identified Fuad Eliya as the final victim of the hijacking. […]