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 DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Syrian Christians and rights activists say Islamic militants have begun deploying rockets to target Christian sites, killing at least five young children this month alone. The announcement follows international concern about reports that rebel forces based on the outskirts of Damascus daily fire mortar shells at the capital, which is firmly under government control.

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 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 DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)— Fighters of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group have released another 37 Assyrian Christians who had been kidnapped nine months ago, but hundreds of other Christian hostages remain detained, Christians confirmed Friday, November 20.

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 with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (BosNewsLife)-- Thousands of Christians remained trapped in a besieged village in Syria late Friday, August 24, without food and regular electricity, a local leader and Catholic aid workers told BosNewsLife.

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 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 with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christian aid workers and local believers in Syria have urged prayers and assistance after President Bashar Assad's forces were accused of launching a chemical weapons attack killing at least 70 people and injuring many more.