Syria

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Senior Mission Correspondent Dr. John M. Lindner and Stefan J. Bos ALEPPO/DAMASCUS (BosNewsLife)-- Minority Christians in Syria's largest city Aleppo said Friday, December 7, they face starvation after dozens of believers already died in targeted attacks rocking Christian areas of the war-torn country.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife DAMASCUS/ANKARA (BosNewsLife)-- Tens of thousands of panicked-stricken people, many of them Christians, are seen fleeing north-east Syria...

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)— One of Syria’s most respected church leaders has condemned the destruction of an ancient Catholic monastery by the Islamic State (IS) group and expressed concern that hundreds of kidnapped people, many of them Christians, may have been killed and Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo Antoine Audo spoke hours after news emerged that IS had destroyed the monastery in the Syrian town of Qaryatain dating back to the 5th century after Christ, and is located in central Homs province.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- A Dutch priest, who became known for his insistence on staying in the war-torn Syrian city of Homs, was shot dead there Monday, April 7, by suspected Islamic militants, Catholic sources said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service and BosNewsLife's Chief International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Thousands of Christians have fled their homes in Syria where news emerged Tuesday, July 3, that intelligence agencies run dozens of torture centers where detainees are beaten with batons and cables, burned with acid, sexually assaulted, and have fingernails torn out.

Listen to this report via Vatican Radio:  By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with additional reporting by Vatican Radio's Lydia O'Kane DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Syrian Christians were rejoicing Monday, March 10, after rebels freed more than a dozen Greek Orthodox nuns ending their near four-month captivity in exchange for Syrian authorities releasing dozens of female prisoners.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- At least four people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a Christian area of the Syrian capital Friday, June 28,  amid warnings from investigators that the country's minority Christians are becoming victims of "disproportionate violence and abuse" in a war that has claimed as many as 100,000 lives.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife ISTANBUL/DAMASCUS (BosNewsLife)-- Turkey's Syrian Christians urged prayers on Friday, October 11, as Turkish forces pounded northeast Syria...

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service BRUSSELS/DAMASCUS (BosNewsLife)-- An Italian Jesuit priest who went missing in Syria several months ago is still alive, Christians involved in the case said Wednesday, October 2. Archdeacon Emanuel Youkhana of the Assyrian Church in the East told a gathering at the European Parliament that reports from inside Syria confirm that that "Father Paolo Dall’Oglio is alive".

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos CAIRO/BRUSSELS (BosNewsLife)-- The European Parliament (EP) has condemned violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt, after at least 25 were killed and more than 300 wounded by security forces in Cairo during a peaceful protest earlier this month, a key legislator told BosNewsLife Friday, October 28.