Syria: Islamists prepare for attack on Christian village Mhardeh

According to information by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), Syrian Islamists are preparing for an offensive to "liberate" Mhardeh. As eyewitnesses had informed the human rights organization by phone, Al-Nusra fighters are approaching the small, predominantly Christian inhabited town in the district of Hama in central Syria, after jihadist of the terror organization "Islamic State" (IS) left the region a few days ago.

The STP stated that there are many refugees in Mhardeh at the moment. They had sought protection from the warring parties in Syria. The town (in the eponymous district), which is located about 23 kilometers to the northwest of Hama, has about 22,000 inhabitants and is one of the last Christian settlements in the region. Since the early 80s, Hama is considered to be a stronghold of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. The city was largely destroyed when the Syrian regime violently suppressed a Sunni uprising. About 30,000 people were killed.

For the history of Christianity in Syria, Mhardeh is important because several well-known Christian personalities were born there – for example Ignatius IV. Hazim, the second last Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The town is situated in the fertile valley of al-Ghab close to the biblical river Orontes, where the Mhardeh Dam was built. Its power plant produces 2,500 kW-hours of electricity. On the one hand, it is to be feared that Islamists might deliberately destroy the power plant. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the region fear that the Syrian regime might carry out artillery attacks or air raids in the region because of the presence of the Islamists fighters.

The STP has repeatedly urged the federal government and the governments of the EU member states to review their financial help for the Syrian opposition. It must be ensured that no EU funding will reach the IS or the Al-Nusra front, as feared by the Syrian Christians. The IS and the Al-Nusra front cooperate with other Islamist groups – not only in Mhardeh, but also in many other regions of Syria.

In the course of the civil war, the religious and ethnic minorities in Syria such as the Christian Armenians, the Assyro-Aramaeans, the Muslim and Yezidi Kurds, the Druze and other ethnic groups have got caught between the fronts. These groups make up at least 45 percent of the Syrian population.

The STP's Middle East consultant, Dr. Kamal Sido, is available for further questions: +49 551 49906 18 or nahost@gfbv.de.

Header Photo: By courtesy of Pater Emanuel