February 8, 2012
Syrian forces continue to crack down on protesters in Homs, killing more than 300 in renewed conflict just days after the United States closed its embassy in Damascus and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on solutions to end the 11 months of civil unrest, Mission Network News reports. While some predict the Assad regime will fall, others say he will never back down, and additional worries are arising that Syria could go after Israel if attacked. According to Tom Doyle of the church-planting ministry E3 Partners, Christians have largely been left alone by the government since the unrest began, although they still have to deal with the day-to-day violence. "We're hearing the nominal Christians, Muslims, Alawite, Druze in Syria are much more open to hearing about Christ," Doyle said. "In fact, in some cases, they are seeking out Christians. The places where people are being set free is where Satan is trying to keep them in chains with radical Islam, to keep the people afraid, to keep people away from the Muslims who are very open to the Gospel right now."
