Second Sectarian Attack Strikes Syrian Christian Village
Father Fadi Sankari escaped unharmed and urged unity and legal accountability as arrests followed the October 3 attack on Al-Suqaylabiyah.
Armed men from the neighboring Sunni-majority village of Al-Qalaa entered Al-Suqaylabiyah, a predominantly Christian village in rural Hama, Syria, on the night of October 3, 2026. The gunmen fired at houses and shot at a Greek Orthodox priest in his vehicle. The priest escaped unharmed.
The assault marked the second sectarian attack on the community in six months. The incident began with an altercation between young men from the two villages and escalated into intimidation and property damage across the town.
Police arrested several of the attackers. Two Christian men were also detained and released after two days.
A Priest’s Call for Justice Without Revenge
Father Fadi Sankari, a Greek Orthodox priest serving in Al-Suqaylabiyah, posted a message on Facebook calling for “security, justice, and accountability.” He urged the community to remain united and not to seek revenge. His appeal framed the pastoral response after the gunfire: demand protection under the law, and refuse the cycle of retaliation.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide condemned the violence and called on the authorities to protect vulnerable communities. The appeal comes in a country where Christian minorities still face a fragile security environment, and where a local quarrel can turn, within hours, into armed intimidation of an entire village.
Fear After the March Raid
The October 3 attack did not come in isolation. In March 2026, Al-Suqaylabiyah suffered a similar raid in which armed men targeted shops and homes. Residents have expressed fear that such assaults will recur, and they have voiced hope for lasting protection.
For families in this Hama countryside town, the pattern is now hard to ignore: two raids in six months, gunfire directed at Christian houses, and a priest narrowly escaping harm. The arrests signal some official response, yet the memory of March and the renewed violence of October leave open the urgent question of durable security for a community that asks to live and worship in peace.
Father Sankari’s twin appeal—accountability from those charged with public order, and unity without vengeance among the faithful—names both the wound and the Christian path through it.