Crux | Dale Gavlak | Oct. 9, 2019
A Turkish milItary convoy is pictured in Kilis near the Turkish-Syrian border Oct. 9, 2019. Turkish warplanes have begun attacking northeastern Syria, causing widespread panic among Christian and other religious communities caught up in the aerial bombardments. (Credit: CNS photo/Mehmet Ali Dag, Ihlas News Agency via Reuters.)
AMMAN, Jordan – Turkish warplanes have begun attacking northeastern Syria, causing widespread panic among Christian and other religious communities caught up in the aerial bombardments.
“Christians and others are extremely worried,” Syriac Christian political leader Bassam Ishak told Catholic News Service by phone Oct. 9. “The Turkish bombing seems designed to push people out of their towns, if, in fact, they manage to escape alive.”
Ishak heads the Syriac National Council. A graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, he is also a member of the political bureau of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces reported civilian casualties but provided no specific numbers.
