AS increasingly ferocious attacks are made on districts
inhabited by Christians, the murder of a kidnapped Greek Orthodox
priest has further terrified minority communities in Syria.
The priest, Fr Fady Haddad, from the mixed Christian-Muslim town
of Qatana, west of Damascus, was seized while trying to secure the
release of a kidnapped Christian doctor. After reaching an
agreement on the ransom to be paid, the priest went with the kidnap
victim's stepfather to pay over the money. At this point, both men
were captured by an armed gang. Fr Haddad's tortured body was
discovered on Thursday of last week in Jaramana, a predominantly
Christian and Druze quarter of Damascus, close to where he was
seized.
A statement from the Orthodox Patriarchate condemned the "savage
crime", and denounced "attacks against civilians and religious
figures who try to be messengers of peace under these difficult
circumstances".
A spokesman for the Syrian National Council, the main opposition
group in exile, blamed President Bashar al-Assad's government for
the priest's murder, and described Fr Haddad as a "symbol of
national unity. Gangs belonging to the regime killed him in order
to drag Syria into sectarian strife." The Syrian government said
that Fr Haddad had been captured and killed by "terrorists" - the
term it uses for opposition fighters.
In the mean time, a number of Christian neighbourhoods in
Damascus, Aleppo, and elsewhere have witnessed a renewal of
violence in the form of car-bomb attacks, and fighting between the
army and armed rebels. On Monday, the fourth day of the generally
unsuccessful truce arranged by the UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to
coincide with the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, a car bomb
killed and injured dozens of Christians and Druze in Jaramana. On
the same day, another car bomb exploded in the nearby Damascus
district of al-Hajar al-Aswad, causing yet more casualties. Once
again, the government and opposition forces traded accusations
about who was behind the attacks.
The Barnabas Fund says that it has received an urgent request
from its partners in Syria for prayers for Christians in Aleppo.
Large residential areas have been invaded by opposition fighters,
including the mainly Christian area of al-Syriaan al-Jadide.
Fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) put two checkpoints in
front of a Baptist church building, and took over a Christian
school. The other main Christian district, al-Syriaan al-Qadime,
has also fallen to the opposition. Snipers have been positioned on
the roofs in both areas. Meanwhile, armed FSA groups have attacked
the al-Zukhur district of the city, which is home to many of the
Armenian community.
The prospect of a new wave of Syrian Christians' seeking refuge
in neighbouring Lebanon has been raised by the Bishop with
responsibility for Maronite Catholics in Europe, Bishop Maroun
Nasser Gemayel. He said that the attacks on Christian districts
meant that thousands of people felt they had no option but to flee,
"despite their great love of their homeland".
The issue of what the Church of England might be able to do to
help Christian communities in Syria was raised in the House of
Commons last week. Church Commissioners were asked for their
assessment of the potential support that they might provide. The
Second Church Estates Commissioner, Sir Tony Baldry, said that
Lambeth Palace and the Church of England were "in regular contact
with Christian development and mission agencies as to how best the
Church might support vulnerable communities in Syria". But the
nature of the conflict meant that it was "proving incredibly
difficult to give support to those communities in most need. The
Archbishop of Canterbury remains in regular contact with religious
leaders in Syria, as well as with religious leaders from
neighbouring countries."