Gunmen Attack Syrian Christian Town; Priest Unharmed

Armed men entered the Christian town of Al-Suqaylabiyah in Syria in early October and opened fire on residential properties and a church center where people had taken shelter. Fr. Fadi Sankari, the Greek Orthodox parish priest and a partner of Aid to the Church in Need, said gunmen fired shots at him and his vehicle; a bullet narrowly missed him.

The violence began as a dispute between young people from Al-Suqaylabiyah and the neighboring Muslim-majority village of Al-Qalaa. What began among youths escalated into coordinated violence by armed men who entered the Christian town, shooting at properties and at the church center where residents had sought safety.

Pastor Calls for Justice Without Vendetta

Fr. Sankari urged calm, justice, and accountability rather than vendettas. He said no one has the right to threaten the safety and dignity of others. His appeal was addressed to a community already shaken by repeated violence and determined not to answer bloodshed with bloodshed.

The attack marks the second or third such incident in Al-Suqaylabiyah this year. Residents have expressed fear that the assaults are premeditated and that the danger facing the town is growing worse. Each new episode deepens local concern that Christian homes and church sites are being singled out.

Civilians who took shelter in the church center during the gunfire faced an assault that reached beyond private houses to a place of refuge tied to parish life. The priest's narrow escape has made the threat unmistakable for families in his care.

Christian residents continue to ask for protection for their homes, their church buildings, and their right to live in safety. Fr. Sankari combined two demands in one pastoral line: refuse private revenge, and insist that those who took up arms be held to account. For a town struck more than once in a single year, that double call remains the measure of a just response.