In July 1860, fighting spilled over into Damascus.
With the connivance of the military authorities and Turkish soldiers, Druze and Sunni Muslim paramilitary groups organised pogroms which lasted three days (9-11 July).
25,000 Christians were killed.
The American vice-consul and Dutch consul could narrowly escape the mobs.
Churches and missionary schools were set on fire.
Many Christians were saved through the intervention of the Muslim Algerian exile Emir Abdelkader and his soldiers, who brought them to safety in Abdelkader's residence and the Citadel of Damascus.
The Christian quarter of the old city (mostly inhabited by Catholics), including a number of churches, was burnt down.
The Christian inhabitants of the notoriously poor and refractory Midan district outside the walls (mostly Orthodox) were, however, protected by their Muslim neighbors.

Most sources put the figure of those killed between 7,000 and 11,000, with some claiming over 20,000.
A letter in the English Daily News in July 1860 states that between 7,000 and 8,000 had been murdered; 5,000 widowed and 16,000 orphaned.
James Lewis Farley, in a letter, speaks of 326 villages, 560 churches, 28 colleges, 42 convents, and 9 other religious establishments, having been totally destroyed.
Churchill puts the figures at 11,000 murdered, 100,000 refugees, 20,000 widows and orphans, 3,000 habitations burnt to the ground, and 4,000 perishing from destitution.
Other estimates claim 380 Christian villages were destroyed.
In July 1860, fighting spilled over into Damascus. With the connivance of the military authorities and Turkish soldiers, Druze and Sunni Muslim paramilitary groups organised pogroms which lasted three days (9-11 July). 25,000 Christians were killed. The American vice-consul and Dutch consul could narrowly escape the mobs. Churches and missionary schools were set on fire. Many Christians were saved through the intervention of the Muslim Algerian exile Emir Abdelkader and his soldiers, who brought them to safety in Abdelkader's residence and the Citadel of Damascus. The Christian quarter of the old city (mostly inhabited by Catholics), including a number of churches, was burnt down. The Christian inhabitants of the notoriously poor and refractory Midan district outside the walls (mostly Orthodox) were, however, protected by their Muslim neighbors.
Most sources put the figure of those killed between 7,000 and 11,000, with some claiming over 20,000. A letter in the English Daily News in July 1860 states that between 7,000 and 8,000 had been murdered; 5,000 widowed and 16,000 orphaned. James Lewis Farley, in a letter, speaks of 326 villages, 560 churches, 28 colleges, 42 convents, and 9 other religious establishments, having been totally destroyed. Churchill puts the figures at 11,000 murdered, 100,000 refugees, 20,000 widows and orphans, 3,000 habitations burnt to the ground, and 4,000 perishing from destitution. Other estimates claim 380 Christian villages were destroyed.
1860 Mount Lebanon civil war