Syrian Elections: Assad Wins 88.7% of the Vote
Syrian President Bashar Assad has won re-election in a landslide with 88.7 percent of the vote, Syria’s parliament speak said Wednesday night.
Syria
Assad Hiding Chemical Weapons Activist Charges
Opposition figures have accused the Syrian regime of hiding chemical weapons in remote Alawite regions of northwestern Syria, defying its international commitment to eliminate its chemical stockpile by the end of June.
Suicide Attack in Syria Carried Out by U.S. Citizen
For the first time in the bloody civil war tearing the country apart, an American citizen carried out a suicide bombing in Syria.
Obama Close to Authorizing Military Training of Syrian Rebels
President Barack Obama is close to authorizing a mission led by the U.S. military to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the regime of Bashar al-Assad and al Qaeda-linked groups, a move that would expand Washington’s role in the conflict, U.S. officials said.
Syria: Maaloula’s Christian Sites Sacked By Rebels
An official report by the Directorate General of Antiquities has documented the destruction inflicted on Maaloula and its historical sites by Islamist rebel fighters after pro-Assad forces had regained the Syrian city, according to International Christian Concern.
Syrian Islamists Kill 80 Christians, Displace Thousands More
Eighty Christians were killed and thousands more displaced after Islamic militants attacked the strategic Syrian town of Kessab near the Turkish border on March 21, according to Barnabas Aid.
Christians Warned Not to Support Assad
Using the Twitter social networking site, Lebanon’s March 14 General Secretariat Coordinator warned Christians that backing President Bashar al-Assad would backfire on their own communities, according to NOW news.
Call to Protect Syria’s Christians
The World Evangelical Alliance has called for the protection of Syria’s Christian population ahead of the upcoming peace conference in Geneva, according to International Christian Concern.
Lebanon: Historic Christian-owned library torched
A blasphemy allegation may have led to an arson attack on an historic library owned by a church leader in Lebanon this month, according to Barnabas Aid.
Syria: Christian village now a ‘ghost town’
Homes have been vandalized and plundered while the bodies of Christians lie along the roads of a small Christian village north of Damascus after it was invaded by Islamist insurgents last Thursday.
Jihadist rebels, Assad loyalists fight for control of Syrian countryside
In the battle for Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebel jihadist factions, violent contests for the control of small Christian villages are often under-reported by the mainstream media.
More Christian Clergy Missing in Syria
Last week’s disappearance of an Italian Jesuit priest in Syria suggested foul play following the kidnappings of two other clergy in April, according to Morning Star News.
Syrian Rebels to Assyrian Christian refugees: ‘If you want to come back, convert to Islam, or you will be killed’
According to the Assyrian International News Agency, Assyrian Christians who have fled from an area of Syria called al-Thawrah (also known as al-Tabqah), have been told by rebels, “If you want to come back, convert to Islam, or you will be killed.”
Millions of Muslims Devoted to Mary
Every year, millions of Muslims, mostly women, go on pilgrimage to Marian shrines in Egypt, Syria, Portugal and Lebanon, according to Asia News.
Free Syrian Army Massacre Christian Village
Another massacre reportedly carried out by Free Syrian Army militants has targeted the residents of al-Duwayr/Douar, a Christian village close to the city of Homs and near Syria’s border with Lebanon, according to Syria Report.
Syria Militants Behead Catholic Priest And Two Others
A Catholic priest has been publicly beheaded by suspected Islamic militants in northern Syria after accusations of collaborating with President Bashar Assad’s government, Worthy News established Tuesday, July 2.
Iraq Christians Fear More Violence After Church Attacks, Killings
Minority Christians in Iraq feared more violence Saturday, June 29, after several Assyrian Christian shops and one church were attacked, killing two people and injuring a dozen others, church representatives said.
Senior Christian Clerics Kidnapped in Syria
In April, two senior clerics caught in the Syrian civil war were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen and remain in captivity, their whereabouts unknown.
Syrian rebels rob religious sites
In their battle to topple the Assad regime, rebel jihadists of the Free Syrian Army have also looted religious sites in Northern Syria, according to Human Rights Watch.
Syria Christians Attacked Ahead Of Presidential Speech
Beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was to deliver a speech on Sunday, January 6, a day after rights activists said a shell hit a Christian area of Damascus and a car bomb exploded elsewhere in the Syrian capital.