Islamic State in Syria Kidnap at Least 150 Christians

Fighters of the Islamic State have kidnapped at least 150 Assyrian Christians in northeastern Syria, Reuters reports, citing Christian Syrian activists.

“We have verified at least 150 people who have been abducted from sources on the ground,” Bassam Ishak, President of the Syriac National Council of Syria, said. The kidnapped include women and the elderly.

Earlier, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 90 were abducted Tuesday after dawn raids in which ISIS seized villages inhabited by the ancient Christian minority near the town of Tel Hmar, a mainly Assyrian town, from Kurdish forces in the province of Hassakeh.

Hassakeh province, located in the northeastern corner of Syria, is of significant importance to the fight against the Islamic State because it borders areas controlled by the militant group in Iraq, where the militant group committed atrocities against the Yazidi religious minority last year.

The kidnappings have magnified fears of more atrocities targeting Christians and other minorities in the Middle East. Last week the militant group released a video that reportedly showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

The kidnappings “coincide with a push by Syrian Kurds in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border since Sunday that had compounded losses for the militant group in Syria,” Reuters reports.

Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, advanced towards ISIS’s stronghold in northeastern Syria this week, launching two separate attacks near the Iraqi border and advancing within three miles of Tel Hamis, an ISIS-controlled town near the city of Qamishli.

Rights Group Calls for U.N. Arms Embargo on Syria Over Barrel Bombs

Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that the Syrian government had carried out at least 1,450 indescriminate air attacks over the past year, often using barrel bombs, that had killed or injured thousands of people, the New York Times reports.

In a report released Tuesday, the group said that by examining satellite imagery, photos, video and witness statements, it identified around 450 major damage sites in 10 towns and villages held by rebel groups in Deraa and at least 1,000 sites in war-torn Aleppo.

The rights group called for sanctions and an arms embargo to be imposed on Syria to punish the regime for the continued use of barrel bombs.

“We believe an arms embargo would deal adequately with the issue of barrel bombs,” Philippe Bolopion, United Nations director at Human Rights Watch said, because it would target shipments of spare parts, fuel for aircraft and other key items.

The use of barrel bombs, containers packed with explosives and projectiles that are dropped from helicopters have been widely documented by international human-rights organizations.

On Feb. 22, 2014, the Security Council demanded that all parties to the conflict in Syria end the indescrimnate use of barrel bombs in civilian areas.

In an interview with the BBC this month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied accusations that his forces had used barrel bombs, insisting that the army uses bullets, missiles and bombs. “There are no barrel bombs; we don’t have barrels,” he said.

Nadim Houry, the group’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director, told a news conference that the majority of deaths are still caused by the Assad government, and the bombing is the “key cause of the displacement crisis in Syria,” AP reports.

The group also urged the Security Council to act to stop the indiscriminate bombardments when it meets Thursday to discuss Syria.

Health Organizations Warns of Potential Cholera Outbreak in Syria

A cholera outbreak is feared in coming months in Syria due to dirty water and poor sanitation, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday.

“Safe drinking water is available at about one-third of the level it was before the conflict erupted nearly five years ago, and supplies are cut off to punish civilians at times,” it said.

As a result, diseases such as hepatitis A and typhoid are also on the rise in Syria.

“Some 31,460 cases of hepatitis A were reported in Syria last year and more than 1,000 cases have been recorded per week since January,” Reuters reports, citing WHO.

“This normally we see when the weather is warmer and so on. But it just tells you people no longer have the same access to safe drinking water as before,” Dr. Elizabeth Hoff, WHO representative in Syria. told a news conference.

“Water has been used for political dividends and has been turned off to certain areas, and that leads people to drink water from unsafe areas,” she added.

Diseases like cholera are usually linked to contaminated drinking water and thrive in areas that have poor hygiene and are overcrowded.

Last year the WHO appealed for $116 million to provide medicines and healthcare services to 12.2 million people across Syria this year, including 4.8 million who reside in hard-to reach areas that are inaccessible due to fighting.

“We are moving towards a worse situation and some of the areas going back to being besieged.” Hoff said, adding that Dal-Zor city, Moadimiya, a Damascus suburb with 35,000 people, and Mharda, a government-held town of 10,000 in Hama province, are now considered besieged.

Recommended Reads:

• BBC: Islamic State: How Foreigners are Helped to Reach Syria and Iraq
• Wall Street Journal: Three British Schoolgirls Have Likely Reached Syria
• Daily Star: Syria War Draws in Christian Musician, Seven Brothers
• Atlantic: The Surreal Saga of Suleyman Shah
• Guardian: Activists Warn of End of Christian Presence in Middle East as ISIS Seizes 90 Assyrians

Photo Courtesy of AP Images