06/21/2019 Syria (International Christian Concern) – 15 Syrian Christian children were reportedly kidnapped in the city of Qamishli. It is believed that their abductors took the children for the purpose of military training and unspecified indoctrination. The circumstances of the incident remain unverified and the information available is limited.

However, the context of the situation is one of concern. On Monday, a car bomb targeted the city’s local Asayish station. The Asayish is the name of the Kurdish intelligence and injuries were reported by the attack. As a result, tensions are high in Qamishli. Some Assyrian news are reporting that the abductors belong to the Syriac Union Party, who is predominately Christian and maintains close ties to the Kurdish authorities.

The situation speaks to the fracturing of society that eight years of civil war has wrought in Syria. Christians have often experienced kidnappings in Syria, usually at the hands of ISIS. With the militants’ now territorially defeated, there is more confusion about who is propelling violence in Syria. The conflict has forced people—including Christians—into different camps of opinion. Discerning responsibility for specific acts of violence is thus increasingly challenging.

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