Syria

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- A Syrian priest and some 20 other Christians remained missing Wednesday, October 8, after they were kidnapped by Islamist militants near Syria's border with Turkey, church officials said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (BosNewsLife)-- Syrian Christian leaders and aid workers warned the West on Wednesday, August 28, that a planned military action against their country's government "would be disastrous" with "unintended consequences" for the already endangered Christian community.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Suspected Islamic gunmen shot dead at least 11 people, mostly Christians, in central Syria on Saturday, August 17, in what local residents and activists said was the latest in a series of attacks on the country's Christian minority.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist TOKYO, JAPAN (BosNewsLife Columns)-- A forthcoming film from famed director Martin Scorsese is set  to confront the movie-going public with the persecution of Christians. It's “Silence,” based on the celebrated 1966 historical novel by Japanese Christian writer Shusaku Endo, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militants with ties to terror group al-Qaida have launched the"ethnic cleansing of minority Christians" in Syria, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the embattled Syrian city of Homs and other areas, aid workers confirmed Tuesday, March 27.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in war-torn Syria have marked one month since the kidnapping of two bishops near the Turkish border with a new appeal for their release, amid mounting concerns about the leaders' safety and health.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Aid workers remain concerned over dozens of mainly elderly Christians in north-west Syria, after Islamic militants overran a Christian town, killing some 80 people, and forcing thousands of local residents to flee.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Two Syrian Orthodox bishops remained missing Wednesday, April 24, after they were kidnapped by suspected Islamic gunmen who also killed their driver, church officials and local Christians said.

By BosNewsLife Americas Service WASHINGTON, USA (BosNewsLife)-- Most Americans agree with the presidential candidates of both parties in calling Islamic State group atrocities against Christians in the Middle East "genocide," according to a poll by the Catholic Knights of Columbus (KofC) order and the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee and Martin O'Malley have all called the situation genocide.

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...