Over 120 churches damaged in Syria war since 2011: report

A Syrian war monitor associated with the opposition says over 120 Christian places of worship have been damaged or destroyed by all sides in the country’s eight-year conflict.

The Qatar-based Syrian Network for Human Rights says in its report that the Syrian government was responsible for 60 percent of the attacks. It says the rest were done by the Islamic State group, the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other rebel groups.

In one attack, IS used bulldozers to destroy the ancient Saint Elian Monastery in 2015. Other sites were damaged by combat or shelling.

Christians made up about 10%  of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million. Half the population are now either internally displaced or have left the country.

The Syrian government has no immediate comment on the report.

— AP