63 churches have been damaged or destroyed so far during four years of civil war in Syria, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said in May.
In a comprehensive 21-page report, first published in Arabic on 7 May and then in English, the rights group, known for being anti-government, launched a withering attack on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, claiming they were responsible for almost two thirds of the attacks.
The SNHR blames opposition forces for 14 and Islamic extremist groups for seven (ISIS, six; Al-Nusra Front, one). Two are unattributed; the remaining 40 are blamed on the al-Assad regime. The report, ‘Targeting Christian Places of Worship in Syria’, took five months to compile, says the SNHR, which claims it verified each of its photos and videos, provided by locals or obtained from social media. However, the group acknowledges it ‘might not have been able to document all incidents’.
