Syria: attack on church prevented

Vienna/Aleppo – These were the heaviest fighting Aleppo has seen since the fall of long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad. The reason for this is disagreements between the Kurds, who want decentralised government, and the Islamist transitional government, which wants a centrally governed state. „For a week, we were back at war. Bombs were flying, we felt tremors. We couldn‘t leave our homes for five days,“ says CiN project partner Dr Gabriel in a telephone call in mid-January. Dr Gabriel works in a Christian hospital in Aleppo, which, thanks to our donors, is able to provide medical care to the poor, whether Christian or Muslim. The latter see that the Christians are there for them. This reduces tensions.

CiN donations help
In December, a girl had her tonsils and adenoids removed, and a patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome and a patient with atrial fibrillation were treated. A gastroscopy was performed on a patient with gastrointestinal bleeding and a gynaecological examination was carried out on a female patient. The following were covered: ward stay, treatment, medicine, anaesthesia. The situation is volatile, and we can only be grateful that the hospital was able to remain operational despite the heavy fighting.

Suicide bombing near church: police officer killed
„There are no attacks on Christians by the government, and security is provided for churches and religious events. Security measures were also tightened because shortly before the turn of the year, an Islamist extremist blew himself up on his way to a church in the Bab al-Faraj district. A police officer who tried to stop the man was killed,“ Dr Gabriel said sadly. Representatives of the Christian denominations expressed their condolences to the family.

Apostle statue sawed off – Christian heritage in danger
The mutilation of the statue of the Apostle Paul in Damascus, from which the figure was sawed off, also shows that Islamists are a serious threat in Syria. Saul converted to Christianity in Syria on his way to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him. The persecutor of Christians Saul thus became the Apostle Paul – this moment was depicted by the statue. Because of the war and the Islamists, the millennia-old Christian heritage that is inextricably linked to Syria is under threat.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi emphasised in his New Year‘s Mass that „Christians in this country are not seeking protection“ but are an integral part of Syria.