Displaying items by tag: Syria

The city of Afrin welcomed refugees fleeing Syria’s war, but in January Turkey, backed by Syrian rebels, took control there. Hanan, a Syrian Kurdish Christian, fears for those who converted from Islam to Christianity. Six years ago he started a church there, which now has 230 members. Many are from a Muslim background, becoming Christians when the grinding civil war drove them to the church searching for peace. Syrian rebels are now threatening to kill Kurds unless they convert to Islam. ‘By Allah, if you repent and come back to Allah, then know that you are our brothers,’ a soldier said in an online video. ‘But if you refuse, then we see that your heads are ripe, and that it is time for us to pluck them.’ There are serious fears of ethnic cleansing in the region.

On 10 May, Israel said it had struck almost all of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria following an Iranian attack. After twenty rockets were fired at Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, it responded by launching what a spokesman called ‘one of the broadest aerial operations in recent years’. There was no immediate comment from Iran, whose deployment of troops to Syria to back the government in the country's civil war has alarmed Israel. Iran has repeatedly called for an end to the existence of the Jewish state.

The following is part of a translation from a Russian political blogger: ‘A Syrian donor conference opened in Brussels under the guidance of the UN and EU. It included non-governmental organisations of Syria who are officially trying to distance themselves from Middle Eastern affairs, but at the same time retain a presence there.’ Their objectives were raising funds for the Syrian population and refugees and resuming Syria’s negotiations with UN help. The blogger said, ‘Syria has become an arena of global confrontation, where each of the external players is solving its own tasks in the region. In these conditions, there can be no question of any observance of the law of war. Hence - the use of poisonous substances, mercenaries, the use of the local population as hostages.’ He also said that these attempts to help refugees reflect idealism, and where there is idealism there is hope - hope for peace.

There are signs that things can improve from now on, as chief participants in Syria’s war are keen to stabilise the conflict. The latest chemical attack and international accusations come in the midst of questions that we can pray into: How long will the US remain in Syria? -Will Turkey keep advancing its own territorial control? What happens in all the territory IS has lost, now a genuine ceasefire is in place? We can pray for a diplomatic and further ceasefire process by Russia, Iran and Turkey to achieve security in the region. In north-west Syria, Turkish forces and allies overran Afrin in March after Kurdish YPG unexpectedly withdrew and joined an exodus of 150,000 civilians. Please pray for the precarious situation of the 137,000 civilians who fled and are now in villages abandoned by IS. They face hunger, sickness, and mines left by the terrorists.

Brushing aside Russia’s pledge to repel any Syria attack, President Trump used Twitter to put Moscow on notice that a military response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons is on the way, telling Russia to ‘get ready’ as missiles will be coming, telling him he ‘shouldn’t be partners with a ‘“Gas Killing Animal” who kills his people and enjoys it!’ Although Russia, Syria and Iran forcefully deny that chemical weapons were deployed on the rebel-held city of Douma, the US and its allies claim that they have evidence validating the charge. The precise timing and nature of the attack remains unknown. Recently the White House spoke of building support for an international response to Syria that would emphasise ‘the use of chemical weapons is a red-line no nation should feel comfortable crossing’. Currently, France and Britain are in consultation with the US to coordinate a response to the use of chemical weapons. See also ‘UK: Upholding Chemical Weapons Treaty’ above. 

Turkey’s flag flew over Afrin while Turkish-led factions, including Salafi jihadi groups, were plundering the city. Images emerging from Afrin resembled a medieval army taking booty. Experts, observers and international anti-IS coalition officials expected Syrian Kurdish fighters to put up a stronger resistance to protect the land, believing Turkey’s victory would come at a greater cost. Since these fighters handed over Afrin without engaging in urban warfare, most people believe the Turkish intervention is a prelude to a wider offensive against other cities under the control of the Kurdish forces. On 20 March Erdogan vowed to expand Turkey's Syria campaign to the Kurdish-held areas up to the Iraqi border. But Syria’s government heavily criticised Turkey's ‘occupation’ of Afrin and demanded that Turkish forces withdraw.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the Bundestag in Berlin on 21 March and condemned as ‘unacceptable’ Turkey’s military offensive in Syria’s northern town of Afrin. She criticized Russia for ‘just watching’ the continuing attacks by Syrian forces on eastern Ghouta. The previous day the UN called for full access to civilians in both places. Ankara said its military operations are defensive and criticised Berlin for not doing more to crack down on supporters of the PKK in Germany. Turkey’s response to America arming Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces in the area is to launch military operations against the Kurdish-controlled Afrin region, risking further confrontation.The lives and safety of 350,000 Afrin civilians are at risk. Pray for the families who are being charged thousands of dollars by Syrian forces for safe passage into government-held areas. See also:- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-germany/germany-condemns-turkish-military-offensive-in-syria-idUSKBN1GX1EI

Father Nassar, a Syrian priest, has said the Church’s conduct is ‘shameful’, and it is not doing nearly enough in the fight to end the bloodshed. His comments come on the seventh anniversary, 15 March, of the popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that sparked the country's vicious civil war. Half a million Syrians have been killed and 6.1 million internally displaced. Of Syria's estimated 10 million children, 8.6 million are in dire need of assistance, and nearly 6 million are displaced or living as refugees. The USA started arming and providing military assistance in 2014 for anti-Assad rebel groups who were waging war against IS. They have also begun working with Syrian Kurds. Meanwhile, Syrian ally Russia has helped Assad's regime, and Iran has provided troops and money. Fr Nassar criticised the numerous international forces which were taking part in the war, and added that the Church needed to do more to try and end the violence.

Heavy fighting stopped another aid convoy from attending civilians in eastern Ghouta. ‘The situation is evolving on the ground, which doesn’t allow us to carry out the operation in such conditions’, said a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. Syrian government forces divided the besieged enclave in two; further squeezing rebels and tens of thousands of civilians trapped there. At least 87 civilians were killed on 7 March, and dozens were also treated for breathing difficulties, after airstrikes hit eastern Ghouta late that same day. Medics reported symptoms consistent with a toxic attack. The observatory said 60+ people were left struggling to breathe after barrel bombs hit the towns of Saqba and Hammuriyeh. Doctors at one medical facility treated at least 29 patients for chlorine exposure, and it is likely that more victims were treated at other clinics.

Rebels are not going to win Syria’s war, but neither will they quit while Assad's forces continue to target suburbs of Eastern Ghouta. Warplanes back his bombardment. Starving people in the besieged regions are ‘awaiting their turn to die’ as the most ferocious attacks in Syria’s history continue. Eastern Ghouta was among the first Syrian regions to shake off government rule after demonstrations against President Assad’s regime swept through the country and led to civil war. The UN has now described the situation there as ‘beyond imagination’. Amnesty International said ‘flagrant war crimes’ are being committed as civilians die. The UN secretary general is supporting a resolution that calls for a 30-day Syrian ceasefire to allow the wounded to leave and supplies to enter. Meanwhile, Assad's forces were sent to the northern Afrin region, where they came under fire from Turkish forces attacking the Kurdish-controlled area. See