Date: June 23, 2025
Tel: 202-682-4131
Email: richard@indefenseofchristians.org
Washington, DC – In Defense of Christians (IDC), the nation’s leading advocacy organization for Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East, strongly condemns the June 22 suicide bombing at Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, Syria. IDC urges the U.S. Government to press the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) to take decisive action: bring the perpetrators to justice and implement robust security measures to protect Syria’s indigenous Christian community from further violence.
On June 22, 2025, a suicide bomber entered Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus’s Dweila neighborhood during a packed evening service. The terrorist opened fire before detonating an explosive vest which killed at least 30 and injured over 60 Christian worshippers. While no group has claimed credit for the attack, the STG quickly attributed the violence to the Islamic State (IS).
The massacre at Saint Elias Church was the deadliest attack in Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. In addition to the tragic loss of life, the attack at Saint Elias Church struck renewed terror into Syria’s already fearful indigenous Christian community in post-Assad Syria.
While the STG has condemned the attack, its words must be matched by decisive action in the form of criminal accountability and deliberate, targeted measures to ensure the prevention of future attacks on Syria’s indigenous Christian community. Without accountability, a culture of impunity will encourage an increase in such atrocities.
According to IDC executive director Richard Ghazal, “The U.S. must make clear to President al-Sharaa that any normalization of diplomatic relations with Syria depends entirely on the Syrian Transitional Government’s demonstrated ability and willingness to ensure the safety of all religious and ethnic communities, and to enforce strict accountability under the rule of law for terrorist violence against religious minorities.”
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