Churches cancel Easter celebrations after sectarian violence in Christian town

Sectarian violence broke out in the Christian town of Suqaylabiyah in western Syria on 28 March.

CSW sources in the town said that violence erupted after two young Muslim men from the nearby Muslim town of Qalaat al-Madiq started verbally harassing Christian women in Suqaylabiyah and were eventually assaulted by local Christian men. The young Muslims went back to their town, returned with dozens of other men on motorcycles and stormed Suqaylabiyah, attacking shops, properties and cars, and firing guns in the air. The attackers also destroyed a shrine of the Virgin Mary in the town. Local sources reported that some national security personnel participated in the violence.

The government responded by deploying the army and national security to contain the situation; however, mobs continued to gather around the town and several attempts to storm it were foiled by government forces.

Leaders from the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox churches issued statements condemning the violence and announcing that public celebrations of Easter will not take place this year.

Syrian Christians for Peace, a civil society organisation, said in a statement: ‘We call upon Syrians from all components [religious and ethnic groups] to remain united and reject sectarianism and division, and we call upon the Syrian government to launch a serious national dialogue initiative and speed up the accountability and transitional justice process. We also encourage the Syrian authorities to issue the necessary legislations to criminalise sectarianism and hate speech.’

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW condemns this latest outbreak of sectarian violence. We encourage the Syrian authorities to increase their efforts to combat extremism and hate speech, and hold all involved in the attacks on Suqaylabiyah, especially those within its ranks, to account. We also urge the international community to call on the Syrian government to fulfil its obligation to protect all citizens, and produce measurable improvements in human rights.’