Catholic aid agencies are working alongside other international humanitarian organizations to house, feed and administer additional life-saving assistance to tens of thousands of people in Syria and Turkey.

Published in International
February 23, 2023

Turkey’s loss

There’s something missing in Turkey’s response to the string of earthquakes across its southern frontier with Syria, and Metin Cetirner knows exactly what it is.

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A new earthquake struck the border area between Turkey and Syria the night of Feb. 20, sparking fear and anxiety for people already bereft and for those helping them since the Feb. 6 temblor. Six people were reported killed in the new quake.

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Four Canadian Catholic organizations have joined forces to deliver aid and support to Turks and Syrians who have lost family, their homes and their livelihoods to the massive earthquake that rumbled near Turkey’s southern border with Syria.

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It’s nice that Canada is going to look into how Canadian-made targeting systems are being used by the Turkish and Azerbaijani military, both engaged in active wars, before allowing any more sales or exports of the systems. But Ottawa will have to do more if it intends to live up to its signature on the international Arms Trade Treaty and international human rights law in general, according to a researcher at Project Ploughshares.

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Parts of Syria's north where Kurds, Christians and Yazidis have practiced religious freedom in recent years are reportedly again under attack by mainly Turkish military and their allied Syrian Islamist fighters.

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OXFORD, England -- Catholic bishops in Turkey pledged not to contest plans to turn Istanbul's ancient Hagia Sophia cathedral that now serves as a museum into a Muslim place of worship.

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Turkey and Greece are trading blame following the deaths of Syrian refugees trying to flee to Europe, but some observers believe Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is weaponizing the Syrian refugee humanitarian crisis.

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Humanitarian concerns are growing as people caught in the crosshairs of the Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria try to flee for safety, and groups are scrambling to aid them.

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Church bells have been ringing in Qamishli and elsewhere in northeastern Syria, signaling the alarm to Christians and others of the ongoing Turkish military operation that is having a devastating humanitarian impact on civilians.

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ROME -- The patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church pleaded for "immediate and lasting peace in northeastern Syria and the preservation of innocent lives, especially for Christians, who are the original and founding component of Syria."

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Turkish warplanes have begun attacking northeastern Syria, causing widespread panic among Christian and other religious communities caught up in the aerial bombardments.

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Syriac Christians in northeastern Syria are calling on the United States to help defend them against a buildup of Turkish troops along the border, fearing they will be overrun and suffer the same fate as Afrin, where jihadist forces pushed out inhabitants last year.

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MYTILENE, Greece - When a Greek priest suggested that if Greece found a home for all the migrants and refugees in its camps, Turkey would just let more come over, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski balked.

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AMMAN, Jordan – Growing numbers of Christians in North America and Europe are joining Christians in Syria's northeast in expressing concern for the future of religious minorities and Kurds in that region should the U.S. give Turkey the "green light" to take over the fight against Islamic State.
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