Three killed in Christian area of Syria amid sectarian tension, election controversy

Three men were killed on Wednesday evening after being shot by masked gunmen riding a motorcycle in the village of Anaz, in the Christian-majority area of Wadi al-Nasara, west of Homs in central Syria.

Local sources said Wisam Mansour and Shafiq Mansour died instantly, while the third man, Pierre Hraiqas, was critically wounded and later died. All three were Christians. Several other people were also injured in the shooting, which targeted a group gathered in front of the house of the village mayor.

The head of Internal Security in Homs Province, Brigadier General Murhaf al-Nusan, said that the shooting was carried out by unidentified assailants.

"We condemn this heinous crime in the strongest terms and categorically reject all forms of violence that threaten the safety and stability of society. The aim of this criminal act is to destabilise security, spread fear in the region, and attempt to influence the parliamentary election process," he said.

Syria is currently in the middle of a controversial parliamentary selection process in which 140 members of parliament will be chosen by local committees, while 70 will be directly appointed by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Nusan said that the site of the shooting had been cordoned off, while security forces were attempting to find and detain perpetrators.

He urged citizens to "remain calm and avoid being drawn into rumours or provocations."

Since the overthrow of the Assad regime in December 2024, Syria has seen outbreaks of sectarian violence in which hundreds of people were killed.

Government-affiliated forces have been accused of committing crimes during these outbreaks.

As soon as news of the incident spread, locals in the area blocked the main road in Anaz and set tyres on fire.

Later on Wednesday evening, a statement was issued in the name of residents of the nearby Sunni town of Qalat al-Hosn, condemning "in the strongest terms the heinous crime that took place in the village of Anaz, which claimed the lives of several young men."

The statement said that the crime had "nothing to do with our morals, our values, or our shared history with our neighbours in Wadi al-Nasara", as rumours spread that the assailants were from Qalat Al-Hosn.

"There are those seeking to ignite discord and strike at civil peace and coexistence among the region’s communities," the statement added.

During the brutal 14-year Syrian conflict, Qalat Al-Hosn was for a time held by Syrian rebels opposed to the Assad regime, while the Christian villages of Wadi Al-Nasara were considered strongholds of the regime.

The incident follows the killing of a parliamentary candidate in Tartus on Tuesday and the murder of three brothers in the al-Ghab area.

On Facebook, Mahmoud Shammas, a local lawyer, wrote on Facebook that the incidents were not isolated events, but were a result of widespread possession of weapons in the area, and “the absence of any clear vision for maintaining security."

A former Syrian MP and Islamic scholar, Mohammed Habash, said that the Syrian government needed to "send in trained units from the regular army - after ensuring that they do not hold extremist views - in order to protect people’s security and confront the culture of hatred.”

Ever since the December 2024 rebel offensive, which ousted the former Assad regime, Syria has struggled to build a professional army, with the government often relying on ill-trained former militia members to keep order.