Christians in Syria are taking refuge in churches to escape escalating violence between Bedouin fighters and Druze militia forces.
The unrest comes as new details emerge about the killing of a Christian man and several of his family members in the Suwayda region.
Khalid Mezher, who was of Druze origin, had converted to Christianity with his wife and daughter many years ago. The family was shot and killed in their home during the recent violence.
Juliette Amor, a local aid worker in Syria partnering with the charity Open Doors, told Premier: “Khalid died with his family. He was a Christian from a Druze background. He and his wife and daughter were the only Christians in their extended family—the rest were Druze.”
“They were killed while hiding in their house from the shooting. An armed group entered and killed them all. So he wasn’t killed because he was a Christian, but because he was from a Druze family,” Amor explained.
She added that Khalid had led a prayer group that visited people’s homes: “They used to pray in houses, and I believe Khalid helped many people hear God's word and come to believe in Jesus.
“He was a believer, serving others and encouraging their faith. But I don’t think the group that killed him knew he was a Christian.”
Describing the situation in and around Suwayda as desperate, Amor said all roads into the city have been blocked and that it is unsafe to enter the region. “Almost all the Christians are hiding in churches because it’s safer than the city.”
She spoke to a priest in the Suwayda countryside who described the terror being felt by displaced Christians: “He has about 80 people sleeping in a church hall without clothes, food, or water. There is no water in the area at all. He told me, ‘We are Christians. We are not armed. We live in peace. We just want peace. We just want to return to our homes safely.’”
Amor appealed for prayer: “Please pray for all Christians in Syria, especially in Suwayda—pray for stability and peace, for wisdom for all those in authority to end this war and violence. Pray that God will never leave the Christians in Syria and will protect those sheltering in churches or wherever they’re hiding.”
This week, the Syrian Orthodox Church issued an urgent appeal for the United Nations and international community to intervene in the conflict.
In a statement posted online, the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran, Jabal al-Arab (Mount Druze), and the Golan for the Greek Orthodox Church described the conflict as “savage” and called for swift intervention to halt “terrorist massacres” in Suwayda. The statement said the violence was taking “the lives of young and old,” and urged the global community to “pray that this cry reaches the whole world.”