The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

In times of war, it is always the marginalized who suffer the most, said a Catholic bishop in northern Iraq. Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of the Archdiocese of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan issued a statement following a drone strike on a Catholic facility in the Christian part of Erbil. At about 8 p.m. on March 4, the Blessed Michael McGivney Apartment complex in Ankawa, Erbil, was struck by an apparent drone attack. The complex is owned by the Chaldean ...

Since the beginning of airstrikes against Iran, ACN has remained in contact with project partners in the region, assessing the need for emergency assistance. Nearly 30,000 people have been displaced following a wave of overnight airstrikes that hit Lebanon on Monday, March 2, according to figures released by the Lebanese government. The attacks shattered the fragile calm that had held in recent months. The strikes were carried out by Israel as a response to attacks by the militant group Hezbollah ...

As tensions rise once again across the Middle East, the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) warns that a further escalation of violence could have devastating consequences for Christian communities throughout the region “The Christian presence in the Middle East must not die out,” said Regina Lynch, Executive President of ACN International. “A new spiral of violence could push already fragile communities beyond the point of survival.” Even in countries like Iran where Christians face discrimination ...

Although the media attention has died down since the ceasefire, the Gaza Strip continues to sink into an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Gaza’s Catholic priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, described the “very serious” conditions marked by the daily suffering of the population. “The situation continues to be very serious in the whole of the Gaza Strip,” says the Catholic parish priest of Gaza, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, while also issuing an urgent ...

ACN is committed to helping rebuild the homes and lives of the Christian community in Syria. Violence in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, has subsided following the withdrawal of forces from the Kurdish-led coalition, which were occupying two neighborhoods in defiance of government forces. Although neither of the parties of the conflict had any issue with the Christian community, many Christians lost their homes and belongings in the fighting, according to Marielle Boutros, who heads the Aid to the Church ...

Civilians are once again the main victims as the Kurdish-led SDF and forces loyal to the government in Damascus, Syria try to take control of the country’s second most important city. The Church has opened the doors of its buildings to displaced families. Christians in Aleppo, Syria are calling for prayers from the international community as violence returns to the city. Government forces and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition based in northeast Syria, have been ...