July 2019

After the fires of the last couple of weeks in Northeast Syria and Northern Iraq, recent fires have burned and destroyed (farm)land around the Christian villages in the Tur Abdin region of Turkey. July 27 saw the burning of olive orchards belonging to the Deyrulzafaran monastery (Mardin). Also read: the comments by Evgil Türker (SÜDEF) and Turkish MP Tuma Celik: Fires in Syriac Villages: 'Even if It is Not Sabotage, There is Gross Negligence Süryani Köylerindeki Yangınlar: Sabotaj Olmasa Bile İhmal Büyük

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The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on ISIS kidnapping networks or the people responsible for kidnapping Christian clerics Maher Mahfouz, Michael Kayyal, Gregorios Ibrahim, Bolous Yazigi, and Paolo Dall’Oglio.

#FreeBishopsInSyria

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On Thursday 11 July 2019 another cowardice bomb attack on a Syriac-Orthodox church was carried out in the city of Qamishli, Al-Hassaka province, northeast Syria. The bomb was planted in a van and parked in front of the St. Mary church. The bomb targeted civilians. It wounded several people and caused a lot of material damage.

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On 7 July 2019 ESU festively opened its new Netherlands office in Hengelo. The European Syriac Union Nederland and Stichting Bahro Production will be the main occupants of the new office building.

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