Mar Elias Church massacre raises fears in Damascus
The government blames the Islamic State group for yesterday’s attack that left dozens of Christian dead, but amid the uncertainty no one has yet claimed responsibility. A source spoke to AsiaNews complaining that the authorities are busy implementing the Sharia and signing deals with Qatar and Turkey rather than “building a real nation”. Father Jihad (Mar Musa) warns against falling into the trap of attacking the country’s reconstruction work. The Ordinaries of the Holy Land slammed the “barbaric act” that caused “profound shock and deep revulsion”.
Milan (AsiaNews) – In Syria, “there is no security”, you see people “walking the streets”, mostly young people “who in the past were in the pay of armed groups” and now “are called to carry out” police functions even though they do not have the requisites, said a diplomatic source in the Syrian capital that spoke to AsiaNews on condition of anonymity.
Yesterday's attack on the Greek Orthodox church in Damascus "is a source of shock" but it was not unforeseen, because it is the consequence of a "terrible situation", the source added.
“Such a devastating bomb attack during Mass has not been seen for years, even if it did not come unexpectedly. We live in a situation of uncertainty,” and those paying the price are people "gathered to pray".
The latest toll from yesterday's attack on the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of Damascus, which is home to a large Christian community, now tops 30 dead and 90 wounded, 43 of them seriously.
The attacker, after entering the place of worship, crowded for the service in progress with several children, opened fire with a Kalashnikov first, then set off an explosive belt blowing himself up.
Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the government reportedly said that the suicide bomber was a jihadist linked to the Islamic State (IS), a radical movement that at the height of its power in 2015 controlled half of Syria and Iraq.
The Syrian Minister of Information, Hamza al-Mustafa, slammed, “This cowardly act [that] contradicts the values of citizenship that unite us,” while interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has not yet released a statement.
“The authorities immediately attributed the attack to the Islamic State, but no proper investigation has yet taken place,” said the source reached by phone.
The security situation is worrying. “The government seems more interested in implementing the Sharia (Islamic law), issuing directives on clothing, and banning alcohol in addition to signing agreements with Qatar and Turkey whose contents are not well known. This seems to matter more than creating a nation capable of protecting citizens or respecting rights.”
The issue, the source stressed, is “domestic, even more so today with Iran, Israel and the United States involved in direct conflict. Syria has become secondary.”
Those paying the price are the Christians who, according to the source, have been "forgotten since the Assad era. Now governments, starting with Europe, say they want to let the refugees return because there is a security framework and show their support for this government, removing all sanctions, but the reality on the ground is different, like what happened yesterday.
This is the first suicide attack in the capital since Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led by al-Sharaa overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime in November-December last year.
A security source reports that two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.
The Islamic State has reportedly made several attempts to attack churches in Syria since Assad’s fall, but this was the first to succeed after months of propaganda and low-level operations.
In recent months, IS leaders have reportedly taken advantage of regional wars – from Gaza to the recent escalation in Iran, which also involves the United States – to reorganise and strike again.
After the Alawites and Druze, the Christian community is the latest to end up in the crosshairs of Sunni radicals and terrorists, groups that now control the country after the rise to power of the HTS that drove out the Assads.
In the hours following the attack, thousands of Christians took to the streets to protest, demanding security and freedom.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate was among the first to condemn the attack, which occurred on the day of the commemoration of all the Saints of Antioch, describing the attack as “an act of unspeakable evil – a crime against humanity and a sin before God.”
Church leaders are calling on authorities to assume “full responsibility for the violation of the sacredness” of Christian places of worship and “the protection of all citizens.”
Patriarch John X is following the situation in order to inform the leaders of the various Churches of what he calls a “dark” image from Damascus, urging the international community to stop the “slaughter”.
In a message posted on social media, Fr Jihad Youssef, who belongs to the monastic community of Mar Musa founded by Italian Jesuit Fr Paolo Dall’Oglio, calls the attack a “miserable and vicious attempt to strike” at the country’s reconstruction work.
The goal is to “destroy what remains of trust” among members of Syria’s diverse society. “We must not fall,” he added, “into the trap of surrendering to terrorism and extreme religious extremism. We must not give up and avoid our responsibilities and role so that the blood of Syrians of the last fourteen years was not spilled in vain.”
“May our solidarity and unity as Syrians be with anyone who has lost a loved one,” he noted, and may “our desire to rise again in Syria be stronger than hatred.”
In a press release published today, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land also expressed their “profound shock and deep revulsion” for an act that “has no justification – religious, moral or rational”.
The statement goes on to demand “the protection of places of worship – synagogues, churches and mosques,” which “is a duty guaranteed by religions, human values, laws and international agreements.”
Finally, the Ordinaries of the Holy Land condemn “this barbaric act” and appeal to Syrian authorities to “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and freedom of Christians throughout the country”.
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