Source: www.worthynews.com
Date: October 6, 2026
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – Concerns were mounting Tuesday about the security of Christians and other religious minorities in Syria following a series of deadly attacks and shootings in several parts of the country.
The violence included an armed attack in a predominantly Christian town and separate shootings that reportedly killed at least 11 people, prompting groups to demand stronger government protection for civilians.
Gunmen on motorcycles attacked Suqaylabiyah in Syria’s Hama province on October 3, opening fire and damaging shops and other property, according to Syrian monitoring groups and local reports.
At least one woman was wounded in the violence and taken to hospital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said armed men believed to have come from nearby Qalaat al-Madiq fired toward shops and homes.
CHRISTIAN TOWN ATTACKED
Video footage circulating on social media and reviewed by regional media appeared to show groups of young men damaging property and attempting to break into shops during the unrest. Other footage purportedly showed attackers smashing storefronts, although Worthy News could not independently verify all the images.
Syrian authorities offered a more limited account of the unrest, describing it as an altercation involving young men from Suqaylabiyah and Qalaat al-Madiq that escalated into an attack on a commercial establishment.
Authorities said Syria’s Internal Security Forces, which operate under the Interior Ministry, intervened, restored calm and arrested suspects from both communities.
However, local Christian representatives and monitoring groups raised questions about the security response and called for greater protection of Suqaylabiyah’s residents.
CHRISTIANS SEEK PROTECTION
The local Greek Orthodox parish priest in Suqaylabiyah, Fadi Sankari, condemned the violence and urged authorities to uphold the rule of law.
“We don’t want chaos, and we don’t want revenge, but we also won’t accept that our people live in fear,” Sankari said in a statement.
He added that authorities had a responsibility “to protect people” and warned that uncontrolled weapons could not replace the rule of law.
The Levantine National Council, an organization established to represent Syrian Christians in the country’s political and civil life, and a group known as the National Meeting also condemned the violence along with other recent attacks on civilians.
CALL FOR SECURITY
They urged Syrian authorities to strengthen security, curb unauthorized weapons and prosecute those responsible.
“Protecting civilians is a responsibility, and holding perpetrators accountable is a necessity,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
The groups also pointed to a September 30 attack on a bus carrying engineers and workers near Masyaf in western Syria.
At least seven people were killed, and four others wounded when gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, according to Syrian authorities and independent reports.
DEADLY BUS ATTACK
The passengers were employees traveling home from work, and monitoring groups said the victims belonged to Syria’s Alawite minority. Subsequent reports suggested the death toll may have risen after one of the wounded died.
The perpetrators and motive have not been officially established. However, monitoring groups cited accounts suggesting that the attackers checked passengers’ identities before opening fire, raising concerns that they may have been deliberately targeted because of their religious background.
The Levantine National Council and National Meeting also referred to another October 2 shooting in the Damascus countryside in which four members of one family, including a child, were reportedly killed when gunmen fired on their vehicle.
The latest violence has renewed concerns about the security of Syria’s religious minorities following the December 2024 collapse of longtime President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
MINORITIES UNDER PRESSURE
Alawites are the religious minority from which Assad and his family originate. Members of the community were disproportionately represented in Syria’s military and security establishment during more than five decades of Assad family rule, although many ordinary Alawites had no ties to the government.
Christians, Alawites and Druze have faced episodes of deadly violence since Assad’s overthrow, including large-scale killings of Alawite civilians along Syria’s Mediterranean coast and violence involving the Druze community in southern Syria.
Syria’s new authorities have repeatedly pledged to protect the country’s religious and ethnic communities and prosecute those responsible for abuses.
Yet Christian and other minority representatives say the latest incidents underscore continuing concerns over security, uncontrolled weapons and the government’s ability to protect vulnerable communities.
CHRISTIAN EXODUS
The Levantine National Council and National Meeting called for transparent investigations whose findings would be made public and said perpetrators should be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
They stressed that the state must remain responsible for security and protecting citizens as Syria struggles to emerge from years of war and attacks against Christians and other minorities.
Syria’s Christian community has shrunk dramatically since the civil war erupted in 2011, when estimates suggested that roughly 1.5 million to 2.1 million Christians lived in the country. Current estimates vary, but Open Doors says only about 300,000 Christians remain.
The Christian advocacy group ranked Syria sixth on its 2026 World Watch List of 50 countries where it says Christians face the most severe persecution, up sharply from 18th place a year earlier. Open Doors cited increased killings of Christians, attacks on churches and mounting pressure on Christian communities among the reasons for the rise.