October 6, 2026

The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy strongly condemns the recent violence perpetrated against Christians in the central Syrian town of Suqaylabiyah. Reports indicate that young men from the neighboring Sunni village of Qalaat Al Madiq opened fire on unarmed civilians injuring many and destroying several shops.

Suqaylabiyah residents are complaining that the Syrian security forces did too little to protect them and simply ordered everyone to stay indoors after the shooting stopped. Reports received by AMCD indicate this is the third time Suqaylabiyah has been attacked in recent months and that the Syrian government is not doing enough to protect Christians from these attacks.

“Attacks on Christians are escalating all over the world,” began AMCD co-chair, John Hajjar, “And the response by many governments, including the new government in Syria, is to arrest and prosecute those Christians who fight back. Naturally, this only exacerbates the problem as Christians do not feel they can rely on the security services to protect them.”

“We have to do everything we can to bring attention to the persecution of Christians,” continued AMCD co-chair, Tom Harb. “For too long Christians have been persecuted to the point of being driven out of their native lands in the Middle East so that now, they exist only in small and often isolated towns and villages which are increasingly vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.”

AMCD stands with our persecuted Christian brethren in the Middle East, Africa, and even Europe, where church vandalism is at an all-time high. We call on governments throughout the world to take serious steps to protect their churches from vandalism and arson and their Christian citizens from violence. We demand that the al-Sharaa government disarm and prosecute the jihadist groups operating in Syria, hold the Suqaylabiyah attackers accountable, and guarantee the safety of all of Syria’s minorities. The international community must make continued engagement with Damascus conditional on real protection for these communities.