Syria

ICC Note:Syria is the number one country, for the second year running, whose people are most at risk of genocide and mass killings. It is the number one, most deadly country for Christians to live in. The mass migrations to Europe are a direct result of this fact. While life is perilous for any within this country, it is especially deadly for minorities such as Christians.

ICC Note: June 1st marked International Children’s day. Accordingly, out of Aleppo the Syrian Christian children share the “best and most beautiful response” to the Civil war they have lived through in the last 5 years. Hundreds of children gathered in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Tartous and Marmarita to pray for a peaceful and hope-filled future.

ICC Note: A tropical parasitic disease is sweeping across the Middle East as healthcare systems have broken down and social unrest has led to the displacement of millions. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by sand mite bites and is easily spread due to the deteriorating conditions in refugee camps among other places. The disease has commonly existed in the past in Syria but it is now being carried outside the nation’s borders as refugees continue to flee conflict zones. The lack of essential medical care and horrific living conditions is causing this parasite to turn epidemic.

ICC Note: In the past three weeks, Aleppo Christians have experienced the worst of the Syrian Civil War. Reports of over 200 Christian deaths have emerged from the city after airstrikes and rockets battered the once affluent city for weeks. In one bombing, Dabbit Hospital, which only treated women and children was destroyed, leaving only 16 of the 134 hospitals in Aleppo functioning. The attacks were carried out primarily in Christian areas of the city. It is still partially unclear as to who is responsible.

ICC Note: Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war five years ago, Christians have been living in “The way of the cross.” Suffering death and abduction, Christians have come to be known as martyrs, standing for their faith even in the face of desolation. Christian neighborhoods and citizens have been the greatest targets in this civil war thus far. Stories of torture, beatings, rape and children being buried alive have all emerged from the region.

ICC Note: Atrocities continue in Syria as a refugee camp in the northern Idlib province was targeted by an airstrike killing at least 28 people. The Kamouna camp is home to internally displaced peoples (IDP) fleeing the bloody civil war, among them Christians fleeing ISIS. It is not clear who led the attack but the crimes can amount to War Crimes according to the UN.

ICC Note: The Syrian Civil war has plagued the nation since March 2011, killing at least 270 thousand and displacing millions more. Now, after days of intense fighting, the leaders of the Catholic communities in Aleppo are appealing to the faithful around the world to offer mass on their behalf this Sunday, May 8. These Christian neighborhoods of Aleppo have been under serious fire in the last few weeks, as fighting between government forces, rebel forces and Islamic State militants has ravaged what’s left of the city.

ICC Note: Nighttime airstrikes hit a Syrian hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday night. The wave of attacks has killed at least 27 people, including 14 doctors and patients. The death toll continues to rise as relief workers are still clearing the rubble. The al-Quds field hospital is in the Sukkari Dstrict in Aleppo, home to the largest Christian population in Syria today. Aleppo was once home to 1.5 million Christians, since the Civil War began that number has dropped to approximately 500,000.