Three weeks ago, we reported that an important Christian stronghold in Syria — the city of Mhardeh and nearby Hama — was under attack by ISIS and the Al Qaeda-backed rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra.
Recent reports indicate that the region is still under siege:
In the central province of Hama, two civilians, including a woman, were killed and another was injured in terrorist rocket attack on Mhardeh city in the countryside.
A source in Hama Police Command told SANA reporter that terrorists targeted Mhardeh city with four rocket shells that hit the western neighborhood, killing two civilians, one of them a woman, and injuring another, in addition to causing material damage to the citizens’ houses and properties.
Terrorists fired a number of rocket shells on several neighborhoods in the city of the central province of Homs, leaving 18 civilians injured, according to a source at Homs Police Command.
The source told SANA reporter that the rocket shells hit al-Walid suburb and Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood, wounding 18 civilians, in addition to causing material damage in the areas where the shells landed.
On Tuesday, seven civilians were injured in terrorist rocket and mortar attacks on Wadi al-Dahab and Ekrema neighborhoods and al-Walid suburb in Homs city.
A report from last week adds additional background:
The ongoing fighting among extremist Islamist anti-Assad groups continues deadlier than ever with the Islamic State (IS) gaining the upper hand. The rising violence and terror are a threat to minorities, especially Christians, whose ancient presence is increasingly in jeopardy. This is particularly true for the Greek Orthodox town of Mhardeh, one Syria’s remaining Christian strongholds, which is under siege from Jabhat al-Nusra forces.
…While the Islamist opposition to President Assad remains divided, Islamists — without exception — continue to target the country’s religious minorities, especially Christians.
The historic city of Mhardeh, one of the last Christian strongholds in Syria, is one of the latest victims.
Fighters from the Jabhat al-Nusra, which is connected to the al-Qaeda terror network and is loyal to its Ayman al-Zawahiri, have surrounded the town, and relentlessly shelled it, day and night, in the past week an eyewitness said. Without power supplies, the city is “besieged on all sides, except for one road, but it’s difficult to go on it,” he added.
For centuries, Mhardeh was a safe haven for Syria’s Greek Orthodox Christians, recently housing a population of approximately 23,000.
Known locally as the “city of the sun,” before plunging into the thick of the Syrian civil war, it had already experienced al-Nusra suicide attacks.
In recent weeks, militants have taken advantage of the lack of media coverage and international attention — whose focus is on the Islamic State and its push in Iraq — to renew its offensive against the Christian town and, more generally, across the Hama region.
However, according to sources in the Syrian opposition, jihadists were aiming at Mhardeh not because the population is Christian, but rather because they want to seize a major government military complex in the area.