Syrian Christian Town Becomes Frontline with ISIS
Image: Syrian Christian Town Becomes Frontline with ISIS
On the outskirts of the Syrian Christian town of Sadad, children play in front of a cannon fired just hours ago in an ongoing battle against the Islamic State group.
Soldiers and pro-regime militiamen nearby look on with amusement at the children, who appear oblivious to the fact that their ancient town is now in the sights of the jihadist group.
Sadad is majority Syriac Orthodox Christian, and it is believed to be the same town referred to as Zedad in the Old Testament’s “Book of Kings”.
Its ancient churches have been caught in the crossfire before, with regime and rebel forces battling for control of the town in October 2013.
Regime forces eventually secured the town, but IS is not far away and many residents have fled.
“Around 60 percent of the 12,000 residents, particularly the women and children, have fled to other Christian villages in the province, like Fayruza and Yazdal,” said Suleiman Khalil, Sadad’s mayor.
“The men are staying behind to defend the town,” added Khalil, in his 30s, working a rosary through his fingers as he walked.
IS already controls several towns and villages in Homs province, including the famed city of Palmyra, home to ancient ruins that the group has systematically destroyed.
It also holds the town of Al-Qaryatain, where its fighters kidnapped hundreds of civilians including Christians, and blew up an ancient monastery.
On November 1, the jihadist group reached Maheen, just 10 kilometres (six miles) east of Sadad.
They have since fired dozens of mortar shells at Sadad, killing both civilians and local fighters.
The advance has left much of the town empty and residents afraid of what may come next.
“We are afraid of massacres but we are also afraid for our churches because the Islamic State group has already blown up religious monuments in areas it has captured,” one local resident told AFP.
IS has launched a campaign of destruction against buildings and monuments that fall outside its harsh interpretation of Islam, ranging from Christian churches to Muslim graves, as well as ancient treasures like the temples of Palmyra.
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“We are threatened by Daesh because of our religion,” said 22-year-old Hassan, a shopkeeper who has taken up arms to defend Sadad, using the Arabic acronym for the group.
“They threaten the whole world. We are staying here to defend the town and prevent the tragedies and massacres that happened in other Christian villages from occurring here.”
Preparing for battle alongside residents are two militias, including a contingent from the so-called Sotoro force (Syriac for protection).
The Sotoro is a Syriac Christian militia based in the northeastern province of Hasakeh, which has dispatched some 250 fighters to held defend Sadad.
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