A Christmas tree was reportedly set ablaze in a Christian-majority town in Syria, prompting protests in the war-torn nation just two weeks after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad and his regime.

Gunfire and shouts of jubilation echoed through the streets of Damascus, SyriaöÏÓãÊÓƵapp capital, as rebel forces opposed to Bashar AssadöÏÓãÊÓƵapp government took control of the city on Dec. 7 and proclaimed an end to the 50-year rule of the Assad dynasty.

The head of the U.S. Catholic bishops' international justice committee is calling on nations to help Syria after the Dec. 8 fall of the Assad dictatorship in a lightning rebel offensive after 13 years of civil war.

Already decimated by years of war, poverty and international sanctions, the last thing people in northwestern Syria needed was the catastrophic 7.8 magnitude that wreaked havoc in their country and southeastern Turkey nearly two months ago.

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.

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 TurkeyöÏÓãÊÓƵapp southern border with Syria.

After 10 years of war, in the midst of complete economic collapse, Caritas Syria, with the backing of Caritas Internationalis, is asking for an end to sanctions put in place to punish the Assad regime for chemical weapons attacks on Syrian civilians, widespread torture and human rights abuses.

VATICAN CITY -- Food, cooking fuel, jobs and, especially, hope are hard to come by in Syria, said two Catholic leaders reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the war.

AMMAN, Jordan -- The worsening coronavirus pandemic and economic conditions in Syria are further deepening poverty and hardship for Christians, who find themselves trapped in a political stalemate, religious freedom advocates say.

VATICAN CITY - As the world's attention is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and its dire economic consequences, the Vatican urged nations not to forget the people of Syria, who are still living in a situation of violence and extreme need.