NGO denounces Christians' displacement due to Syrian conflict

Beirut, Jan 7 (IANS/EFE) A majority of the Christians who were living in the northeastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zur, now mostly-controlled by the Islamic State (IS), have been displaced due to the country's civil war, a report of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) released Wednesday said.

The NGO, in a statement citing local activists as sources, provided a snapshot of Christians' perilous situation in the province, where many churches have been destroyed, Xinhua reported.

Adherents to the Christian minority were mainly concentrated in the cities of Al-Bukamal, which borders Iraq, Al-Mayadin and Deir al-Zur, the province's capital.

In Al-Bukamal, there were three Christian families who possessed lands and properties. The only church in this city was partially destroyed in bombings by Syrian regime forces in September 2012.

Many Christians fled from their homes as a result of fighting between government forces and rebels, although some of them returned after the withdrawal of government troops from Al-Bukamal later in 2012.

In December 2013, the Al-Nusra Front, a subsidiary of Al Qaeda in Syria, took control of Al-Bukamal, and a judge belonging to the front ordered the demolition of the city's sole Christian church.

Later, in July 2014, the IS took over Al-Bukamal and confiscated the property of displaced Christians.

Meanwhile, in Al-Mayadin, the city's only Christian family had to flee in September after IS forced it to choose between leaving the city or paying a "tax" to stay.

The family chose to leave Al-Mayadin and moved to the central province of Homs. After their departure jihadis took possession of their property.

The city of Deir al-Zur was home to some 150 Christian families, who were divided among five different faiths. Most members of these families participated in the anti-government protests that began in March 2011, and later suffered a siege by regime forces.