Syria and the daily sufferings of its people are forgotten, says Homs priest

A Syrian refugee girl sits with her brother at a makeshift settlement in Bar Elias in the Bekaa valley, January 5, 2015.REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A Jesuit priest in war-torn Syria laments the lack of coverage in the media in the wake of a deadly attack that killed 15 people and approximately 50 people injured in Syria.

Father Ziad Halil aired his disappointment that the attack did not gain attention in the media, stating that the world had become preoccupied with the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. "Where is the reaction in the rest of the world? After the attacks in Paris all eyes were on France. But here?" he asked through the Aid to the Church in Need charity organisation.

"Syria and the daily sufferings of its people are forgotten," Fr. Halil said.

According to ACN News, a bomb planted in a car exploded on al-Hadara Street, in the centre of the city of Homs, Syria on January 21. There were Christians among the victims of the explosion, Fr. Halil told ACN. He also said that al-Hadara Street was populated mostly by Alawite Muslims.

On who was responsible for the attack, Fr. Halil said that no one had come forward so far to claim responsibility for the attack. The Jesuit priest said he suspected that the bomb was intended to target the youths studying in the city.

Fr. Halil's sentiments echo that of Nigerian Baptist Rev. Samson Ayokunle, who expressed to the World Baptist Network his "consternation" at how the world seemed indifferent to the Boko Haram attack in Baga, Nigeria.

"The earnestness with which they intervened in the ISIL attack in Syria and Iraq, or the Taliban problem in Afghanistan ... is not shown in the case of Nigeria," Rev. Ayokunle told the World Baptist Network.

"Does it not matter to the rest of the world if Boko Haram continues to kill hundreds of people every week? ... My people are being killed like animals and the whole world is just watching."