Gunmen Kill 3 Christians in Syrian Village

Christians protest in the street in Syria. Photo: Asia News

HOMS — Three young Christians were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the village of Anaz, Wādī an-Naṣārá (Valley of Christians), west of Homs in Syria, local officials reported. The attackers, who opened fire in front of the village chief’s office before fleeing, remain at large.

As reported by Asia News, the killings, described as execution-style, ignited anger across the predominantly Christian region, prompting schools and businesses to shut down and local parties to withdraw from this upcoming Sunday’s parliamentary elections in protest. Residents called for a boycott, citing insecurity and political instability.

Security chief Murhaf al-Naasan said authorities sealed off the area and launched an investigation, warning against rumors and provocations. He suggested the attack aimed to destabilize the region, undermine Syria’s recovery, and intimidate voters ahead of elections.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 30 rounds were fired and noted that one victim had recently been cleared of charges in a legal dispute with residents of nearby Al-Hosn. The group linked the incident to a broader wave of retaliatory killings across Syria, with over 1,000 deaths documented this year.

The violence underscores deep instability under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his former militant group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), despite recent international recognition and promises of rebuilding a “safe, stable and unified” Syria. Ahmed al-Sharaa had a $10 million bounty on his head from the U.S. State Department as recently as December but has undergone an image change as part of the West's attempt to legitimize him.

A statement from the Patriarchate of Antioch was put out this morning. It is published in full below:

Today, the village of Anaz and Wadi al-Nasara, with all their symbolism, bid farewell to the young men whose lives were taken by the treacherous hand of a heinous crime that stains the conscience of humanity. At a time when Syria strives to rise again, the hand of evil once more extends to disrupt civil peace—the essential foundation of coexistence which the Church of Antioch has sought, and continues to seek, to preserve despite all changes.

While the Antiochian Church condemns this sinful act and entrusts to the authorities the duty of uncovering and prosecuting those responsible, it prays with the hearts of all its faithful, lifting supplication to the Father of Lights and the God of all comfort, that He may receive into His embrace the souls of those who have departed to Him, console grieving hearts, and grant Syria the peace for which it longs.

Remaining steadfast in hope, the Church reaffirms its firmness in faith and, through this steadfastness, its rejection of every fear and dread. It beseeches the Lord God to steer the ship of its salvation amid the waves of this world—He who is blessed forever.

Previously, UOJ reported that in the city of Safita (Syria), leaflets with explicit calls for violence were found on the doors of Christian churches, urging the killing of Christians, the enslavement of women, and the looting of believers’ homes.

Read also