Islamic State forces have begun a new offensive targeting 35 Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria. The situation has led to around 3,000 Christians fleeing, some killed, including a teenage boy, and reports of at least 150 Christians being kidnapped and men being separated from women and children where they are being held.
At least one news source reports that ISIS will use the captives as hostages in order to release their own soldiers who are prisoners of war in the custody of Kurdish forces.
Although Sunni Muslims in the area have generally welcomed ISIS, there are also accounts of Sunni Muslims helping Christians escape ISIS.
Many of the escapees have fled to the cities of al-Hasakeh and Qamishli, exacerbating an already tense situation as the cities have already received many displaced people who have sought refuge there. However, most of the new arrivals found shelter with other Christian families in the cities during the day on February 23.
In the province where ISIS is now on the offensive, they had already demanded on February 1 that all churches in the region remove their crosses and that Christians had to pay jizia, a special protection tax that Islamic law requires Christians and Jews to pay in areas where Islam rules.
People in the Danish European Mission network know some of the captives personally, and they ask for prayers for their survival. Likewise, we should urge them to hold on to their faith.
Support Syria: Emergency aid for Christians and other displaced people
The Danish European Mission ensures that Christians and other minority refugees in Syria receive emergency aid. This winter, in addition to food, water and medicine, they are receiving warm clothes, shoes, blankets and fuel. You can
- It costs approximately $1,130 to ensure a refugee family has warm clothes, shoes, mattresses, blankets and fuel this winter.
- It costs approximately DKK 680 to ensure a refugee family has food and medicine for a month.
Sources: World Watch Monitor and an Assyrian Christian leader
