Over 100 Attacks Have Occurred on Syrian Churches Since Its Civil War Began

According to a new report, more than 120 attacks have targeted Christian churches in Syria since the beginning of the country’s eight-year civil war with President Bashar al-Assad responsible for about 60 of those attacks, according to the Christian Post.

The report, released by the Qatar-based Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), used its network of sources and daily monitoring of the country since 2011 to support its findings.

Between March 2011 and September 2019, more than 60% of the incidents were carried out by Syrian Regime forces. Other attacks were implicated by factions of the armed opposition, extremist Islamist groups and other parties.

Churches in the Aleppo governorate have been the most targeted, suffering 34 attacks. And many churches have experienced multiple assaults, such as the Church of the Lady of Peace in Homs undergoing seven attacks all by Syrian regime forces.

The onslaught of violence has left several injured and hundreds of churches seriously damaged. Attackers use missiles, bombs, bulldozers and guns to inflict damage.

“Targeting of Christian places of worship is a form of intimidation against and displacement of the Christian minority in Syria. The current regime bears direct responsibility for the destruction, displacement, and collapse of the Syrian state at various levels because it is the main cause of Syrian state…