The Presbyterian church in Aleppo, Syria, was bombed the evening of Nov. 5. No casualties were reported.
According to the church’s pastor, “two-thirds of the building collapsed, including the sanctuary. The whole place will have to be taken down.”
Aleppo has been the recent scene of intense fighting between the Assad government in Syria and a loose coalition of opposition groups seeking the end the Assad’s family 40-year grip on power in the country.
In an email to Presbyterian World Mission officials here, the Rev. Nuhad Tomeh ― regional liaison for Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Gulf and associate general secretary for the Middle East Council of Churches ― “It is believed that the radical Islamic groups who have been lately attacking the Christian neighborhood have done this.”
No further details are available at this time .
There are 20 Presbyterian congregations in Syria. They are part of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, which was established by Presbyterian missionaries more than 150 years ago and has been in close partnership with the PC(USA) ever since.