Washington, DC. The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) strongly condemns the attack on the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox church Ignatius Aphrem II, on June 20th, in the norther Syrian border town of Qamishli, by Islamic militants. Syrian Orthodox church has a strong following among Indian Christians from the 1st century onwards and Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II is the leader of millions of Indian Christians.
The attack was planned and carried out by Islamic militants during the commemoration of what is known as the Sayfo (Sword) massacre. Several thousand Christians were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire during the Sayfo massacre.
Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II was leading the commemoration of the 1915 Sayfo massacre at the time of attack. Though the Patriarch escaped unharmed, several people are reported to have been killed in the suicide bomb attack.
FIACONA condemns the attack on the Patriarch in the strongest of terms.
http://www.fiacona.org/news-press-release/statement-syrian-patriarch/
