News

Homs priest killed by assassins

  April 7, 2014 Syria Arab Spring, Civil War, Homs, Syria

Frans van der Lugt, a Jesuit priest who refused to leave the embattled city of Homs, Syria, in solidarity with the few Christians still living there, was killed by assassins Monday in his garden. Known among the people as Abouna Francis, the native Dutchman had worked in Syria for more . . . Read More

Indian elections: what could they mean for minority Christians?

  April 4, 2014 India Catholics, Goa, Hindu nationalism, Narendra Modi

India is gearing up for the largest show of democracy on earth. Ahead of national elections, the silent Christian community in India -reportedly 2.3 percent of its 1.2 billion people in 2001, though experts say this was an underestimate  – has become restive and alert. An electorate of 814 million – much . . . Read More

UN chief calls for immediate international action to halt ‘deplorable atrocities’

  April 4, 2014 Central African Republic African Union, Anti-balaka, Catherine Samba-Panza, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Seleka

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon says that immediate action is needed to stop the killing in the Central African Republic (CAR), citing “grave and deplorable atrocities”, and “to prevent the further separation of communities that have lived together for centuries”. Its Human Rights chief said that, on a recent . . . Read More

Happy New Year, Iran?

  April 3, 2014 Iran Hassan Rouhani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

14th-Century Armenian Church of St. Stephanos;near Jolfa, Iran.Adam Jones / Flickr / Creative Commons   It’s officially the first week of a New Year for the Persian-speaking world who have just finished celebrating Nowruz. With the Iranian new year some ‘new’ things have already happened for the Islamic Republic. Most . . . Read More

New US-based Syriac Patriarch says he’ll return to Syria

  April 1, 2014 Syria Aleppo, Damascus, Syria, Syriacs, Yohanna Ibrahim

The Syriac Orthodox Church, one of the oldest churches in the world and seated in the heart of war-ravaged Syria, has selected a US-based archbishop as its next patriarch. Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Karim, a native of Syria, has been Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar to the Archdiocese of the Syriac . . . Read More

20 Nigerian churches destroyed during violent March

  March 31, 2014 Nigeria Benue, Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen

More than 20 churches have been destroyed by Fulani herdsmen during attacks on communities in Benue State, Nigeria. The attacks in Nigeria’s “Middle Belt” started early in March but resumed March 23 in the town of Gbajimba, in the Guma Local Government Area. The attacks have claimed more than 100 . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy

  March 27, 2014 Pakistan Blasphemy, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Prophet Muhammad, Sawan Masih, USA

Lahore, Pakistan – A year after Muslims devastated the predominantly Christian Joseph Colony; the man at the center of the controversy has been sentenced to death for blasphemy because of claims that he insulted Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. Sawan Masih’s sentence, handed down March 27, is based on a conversation that . . . Read More

3000 Syrian Christians flee Armenian village as Islamist rebels take control

  March 27, 2014 Armenian Genocide, Armenians, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Syria, Turkey

An Armenian* Syrian pastor, whose family is from Kessab, close to Syria’s northern border with Turkey, has reported that they have fled the village after Syrian rebel jihadists took control of the area. The fighting in the predominantly Armenian Christian town started Friday March 21st. World Watch Monitor has seen . . . Read More

Sara got married

  March 26, 2014 Turkey Assyrians, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Kurds, Malatya, Mardin, Marriage, Midyat, Mor Gabriel Monastery, Syriacs, Turkey, Women

On March 8, International Women’s Day, many of the people in southeastern Turkey only want to discuss one thing. She is Sara, an 18-year-old Assyrian/Syriac woman, who was allegedly kidnapped by sympathizers of Huda-Part, Allah’s party, the Kurdish equivalent to Hezbollah. Others say she merely followed her heart and converted . . . Read More

Kaduna villages’ death toll rises to 150, including pastor’s wife and three children

  March 24, 2014 Nigeria ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna

The death toll following a massacre across three villages in central Nigeria a week ago has risen beyond 150, according to the deputy Chairman of the Kaura Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna. Suspected Fulani herdsmen raided three mainly Christian villages Ugwar Sankwai, Ungwan Gata and Chenshyi (known also as . . . Read More