TEL TAL: It was a mournful moment for Christians in Syria. A bell that once summoned residents to worship rang out, but the church was no longer there.
The Saint Odisho church was blown up by the Daesh group a decade ago, leaving Tel Tal village almost empty of residents.
A local Christian who fled the attack, Ishaq Nissan, walked the streets and pointed to uninhabited homes, explaining where families had gone: US, Australia, Canada or Europe.
This month, northeast Syria’s remaining Christians will mark the 10th anniversary of the Daesh attack on over 30 villages along the Khabur river. On Feb. 23, 2015, dozens of Christians were killed or wounded and over 200 were taken hostage. Churches were blown up, and thousands of people fled.
The anniversary comes as Christians worry about the future of Syria following the ouster of longtime president Bashar Assad in December by insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group. HTS leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now interim president, and most government members come from Islamic factions.
Al-Sharaa has repeatedly said religious rights will be protected in post-Assad Syria. Though HTS had been an Al-Qaeda affiliate, it is opposed to IS and fought deadly battles with it over the years. IS was defeated in Syria in 2019, but sleeper cells still carry out attacks.
Since Assad’s fall, there have been some attacks by others targeting Christians. In December, a Christmas tree was set on fire in Suqailabiyah village. Authorities called it an isolated incident.
“We hope as Christians that there will be cooperation between all parties of Syria in what gives everyone their rights,” Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Maurice Amsih, who leads the church in the northeast, told The Associated Press.
Amsih said Christians in Syria are opposed to Islamic rule: “We want them to treat us in a civil way.”
Western countries have pressed Syria’s new authorities to guarantee the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, as well as those of women. The vast majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslims, while about a quarter of the population is Christian, Druze or Alawite.
Christians made up about 10 percent of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million, co-existing with the Muslim majority and enjoying freedom of worship under the Assad government. The last parliament speaker under Assad was Christian.
But since civil war began in 2011 with a popular uprising against Assad and a government crackdown, hundreds of thousands of Christians have left the country. The rise of IS, and its attack 10 years ago, helped to drive them out.
“We were living in peace and never expected this dark day to happen in our modern history,” said Elias Antar Elias, a Tel Tal resident who represents the villages of the Khabur river region in the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria.
The 78-year-old and his family fled in the middle of the night as the extremists stormed one Christian village after another, horrifying the population that had lived in relative peace for decades.
Elias, a retired teacher, fled with his family to the northeastern city of Hassakeh and stayed until Kurdish and Christian fighters regained control of their hometown months later.
“We saw the beheaded bodies of Christians on the side of the road as dogs were eating them,” Elias said, calling it “an image that pains our hearts.”
Elias said Tel Tal had about 400 residents before the IS attack. Today, there are about 30.
At the spot where the Saint Odisho church once stood, Elias recalled its importance: “This is where we baptized our children. This is where I got married.”
Asked why his family didn’t leave for good like many others, he replied: “I’m in love with this place. Our graves and martyrs are here. This is our land.”
The archbishop said 34 Christian villages along the Khabur river were home to 45,000 Assyrians before the 2015 attack.
Amsih said about 2.2 million Christians were in Syria before the civil war, and he estimated that two-thirds of them have left the country.
In nearby Tel Nasri, Christian residents have left and the village is full of displaced people from other regions. The Church of Virgin Mary still stands but is badly damaged after being blown up in 2015.
Some Christians who witnessed the violence say they have no plans to leave Syria, even with uncertainty ahead under new leaders.
Janet Chamoun was praying in a church in Qamishli in 2015 when a car bomb exploded outside, throwing her and her daughter to the floor. Glass shattered and some people were injured.
“Despite the fear we decided to stay,” Chamoun said outside the repaired Virgin Mary Syriac church, where she still comes every day to pray.
“Our home and roots are here,” she said.
Syria’s Christians mark a decade since a horrific Daesh attack and worry about their future
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Syria’s Christians mark a decade since a horrific Daesh attack and worry about their future
- The former Islamist insurgents who now run the country have repeatedly said religious rights will be protected.
- This month, northeast Syria’s remaining Christians will mark the 10th anniversary of the Daesh attack on over 30 villages along the Khabur river.
US sanctions Russia-based network for helping Yemen’s Houthis
“The Houthis remain reliant on Sa’id Al-Jamal and his network,” said Bessent
WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on Russia-based people and entities working to help procure weapons and commodities — including stolen Ukrainian grain — for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, the Treasury Department said.
The operatives, who included Russia-based Afghan businessman Hushang Ghairat and his brother, Russia-based Afghan businessman Sohrab Ghairat, helped senior Houthi official Sa’id Al-Jamal, procure millions of dollars’ worth of commodities from Russia for shipment to Houthi-controlled Yemen, Treasury said.
The goods included weapons and sensitive goods, as well as stolen Ukrainian grain, the department said in a statement.
“The Houthis remain reliant on Sa’id Al-Jamal and his network to procure critical goods to supply the group’s terrorist war machine,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Today’s action underscores our commitment to degrading the Houthis’ ability to threaten the region through their destabilizing activities.”
UK says ‘does not support’ Israel’s expansion of Gaza offensive
- UK minister said Israel’s aid blockade poses 'a serious risk' of breaching the international humanitarian law
LONDON: Britain does not support Israel’s expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, a UK minister said on Wednesday.
“We are deeply concerned about the resumption of hostilities in Gaza. The UK does not support an expansion of Israel’s military operations,” junior foreign office minister Hamish Falconer, told parliament.
There is a “serious risk Israel is not simply acting in its own legitimate self defense,” he added.
When asked about Israel’s aid blockade, Falconer said that “we have determined that there is a serious risk of breaches of international humanitarian law by the Israeli government. We will continue to press them on these points.”
Berlin says evacuated 19 Germans plus relatives from Gaza
- Foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said the evacuation on Tuesday “took considerable time” but Berlin was “very relieved
- She welcomed reports of talks, facilitated by regional actors, toward a new Gaza truce
BERLIN: Germany said Wednesday that 19 of its citizens and 14 of their relatives had been evacuated from Gaza as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said the evacuation on Tuesday “took considerable time” but Berlin was “very relieved that this succeeded through close cooperation” with Israeli officials.
Deschauer added that she welcomed reports of talks, facilitated by regional actors, toward a new Gaza truce.
“That’s important, good and somewhat encouraging, but the current situation is dramatic, and it’s important that all parties return to the negotiating table to achieve a ceasefire,” she said at a regular news briefing.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel resumed major air strikes on Gaza on March 18 after talks on next steps in a six-week truce broke down.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that the overall toll since the war began had reached at least 50,399 people, most of them civilians.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of military operations in Gaza to “destroy and clear the area of terrorists.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, speaking during a Berlin visit, deplored the dire humanitarian situation and the war’s impact on children.
“Today, Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world, along with massive numbers of injured adults,” he told the Global Disability Summit.
He said a Jordanian aid project with mobile clinics had helped more than 400 amputees in Gaza, including children.
Jordan welcomes EU’s approved €500m financial aid package
- European Parliament approved the aid package with 571 votes during a plenary session in Strasbourg
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the EU for its support, which enhances cooperation between Amman and Brussels
LONDON: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the EU’s decision to allocate a €500 million ($541 million) financial aid package to the Hashemite Kingdom on Wednesday.
During a plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved an aid package for Jordan with 571 votes as part of a macro-financial assistance initiative.
Sufian Qudah, the ministry’s spokesperson, announced that the European Commission plans to propose an extra €500 million for Jordan, increasing the total funding under the MFA initiative to €1 billion for 2025–2027.
Qudah thanked the EU for its support, which enhances cooperation between Amman and Brussels and acknowledges Jordan’s role in regional peace and stability, the Petra news agency reported.
In January, King Abdullah II of Jordan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in Brussels.
The agreement includes a €1 billion financial aid package and a €3 billion aid package for Jordan for 2025–2027, which comprises €1.4 billion for investment support and €640 million in grants, Petra added.
Suspected US airstrikes in Yemen kill at least 4 people near Hodeida, Houthi militants say
- The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under US President Donald Trump has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis
- “Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said
DUBAI: Suspected US airstrikes battered militant-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday, with the Houthis saying that one strike killed at least four people near the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.
Meanwhile, satellite images taken Wednesday and analyzed by The Associated Press show at least six stealth B-2 Spirit bombers now stationed at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — a highly unusual deployment amid the Yemen campaign and tensions with Iran.
The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under US President Donald Trump, targeting the militants over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.
The campaign appears to show no signs of stopping as the Trump administration again linked their airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. While so far giving no specifics about the campaign and its targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at more than 200.
“Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said. “They’ve taken out critical members who were launching strikes on naval ships and on commercial vessels and this operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored.”
The Houthis haven’t acknowledged the loss of any of its leadership so far — and the US hasn’t identified any official by name. However, messages released by the leak of a Signal conversation between Trump administration officials and their public comments suggest a leader in the militants’ missile forces had been targeted.
Fatal strike reportedly targets Hodeida
Overnight, a likely US airstrike targeted what the Houthis described as a “water project” in Hodeida governorate’s Mansuriyah District, killing four people and wounding others. Other strikes into Wednesday targeted Hajjah, Saada and Sanaa governorates, the militants said.
The militants say they’ve continued to launch attacks against US warships in the Red Sea, namely the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which is carrying out the majority of the strikes on the Houthis. No warship has been struck yet, but the US Navy has described the Houthi fire as the most intense combat its sailors have faced since World War II.
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, now in Asia, is on its way to the Middle East to back up the Truman. Early Wednesday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that “additional squadrons and other air assets” would be deployed to the region, without elaborating.
More B-2s seen at Diego Garcia
That likely includes the deployment of nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to Camp Thunder Bay on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Satellite photos taken Wednesday by Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP showed at least six B-2s at the base.
The deployment represents nearly a third of all the B-2 bombers in Washington’s arsenal. It’s also highly unusual to see that many at one base abroad. Typically, so-called show of force missions involving the B-2 have seen two or three of the aircraft conduct operations in foreign territory.
The nuclear-capable B-2, which first saw action in 1999 in the Kosovo War, is rarely used by the US military in combat, because each aircraft is worth around $1 billion. It has dropped bombs in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as well. The bombers are based at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri and typically conduct long-range strikes from there.
The US has used the B-2 in Yemen last year to attack underground Houthi bases. The B-2 likely would need to be used if Washington ever tried to target Iran’s underground nuclear sites as well.
The Houthis on Tuesday said that they shot down another American MQ-9 drone over the country.
Intense US bombings began on March 15
An AP review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former US President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the militants threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The militants have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war, which has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
