16:21
Al-Qaeda in Syria: THE evidence. The ultimate evidence that President Barack Obama and Socialist French President François Hollande want to fight for Al-Qaeda in Syria...More
Al-Qaeda in Syria: THE evidence.

The ultimate evidence that President Barack Obama and Socialist French President François Hollande want to fight for Al-Qaeda in Syria...
jamesalex
We always remember what happened in Iraq. Unfortunately, Iraq is still in a bloody nightmare. we have to help www.humancaresyria.org
Jésus est Dieu
Syrian Christians targeted by outsiders, says bishop
Christians in Syria are continuing to be targeted by outside fundamentalist groups who have joined the country’s long civil war, the head of the Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem has said.
Bishop Boutros Melki, Syriac Catholic patriarchal vicar, said Christians feared the situation in Syria will become like that in Iraq, where half the Christian …More
Syrian Christians targeted by outsiders, says bishop

Christians in Syria are continuing to be targeted by outside fundamentalist groups who have joined the country’s long civil war, the head of the Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem has said.
Bishop Boutros Melki, Syriac Catholic patriarchal vicar, said Christians feared the situation in Syria will become like that in Iraq, where half the Christian population has fled since the American-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
In an interview with the American Catholic News Service, the bishop said the historic city of Maaloula, with its ancient churches and monasteries, became the site of fighting between rebel and government forces. Attacks against churches and Christian homes occurred and Christian icons and crosses were destroyed and defamed, he said.
“We can’t accuse anybody, but when we know about such actions we ask ourselves what does all this mean and why?” he said. “We always remember what happened in Iraq. Unfortunately, Iraq is still in a bloody nightmare.”
Several priests as well as bishops have been kidnapped over the past six months and have not been heard from since, he said. At least one priest has been confirmed killed. Christian civilians are also being targeted for kidnappings and shot by militias, he said.
Foreign “jihadists”, Bishop Melki said, are coming from different countries with the impression that the Christians in Syria are “kafirs”, or infidels. Christians are not immigrants in Syria but have been in the country since the beginning of Christianity, he said.
The bishop said countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and European nations who are “pushing” people to fight each other could easily lower the levels of bloodshed in the country by simply refusing to sell weapons to either side.
“Those who are fighting each other, with which arms are they doing that? Where did they buy them?” he asked.
“I can’t defend anybody, not the regime and not the opposition,” Bishop Melki added. “I am really just talking in a human way when I see all this suffering and destruction [and] I say why?
“Can we have anything good with these people? Unfortunately, the media targeted the Christians as pro-regime [of Syrian President Bashar Assad]. We are not for one or the other. We are looking at the reality … as in Iraq we are not for Saddam Hussein, or here Bashar Assad. We are for the human being,” the bishop continued.
“If we want to change and put in another regime would that it be a better one. We want to live with dignity with all our rights as citizens and not to be considered second class.”
Bishop Melki said there is a deep fear “that the outside groups will take control”.
www.catholicherald.co.uk/…/syrian-christia…
Jésus est Dieu
Egyptian security forces arrest 56 people after storming Islamist-held town
Tarek El Tablawy, Sep 16, 2013
CAIRO // Egyptian security forces took control of a southern town besieged by supporters of the former president, Mohammed Morsi, as suspected militants struck at police in Sinai with a blast that wounded nine people.
Military troops and police secured the entrances to Dalga, a town of more …More
Egyptian security forces arrest 56 people after storming Islamist-held town

Tarek El Tablawy, Sep 16, 2013
CAIRO // Egyptian security forces took control of a southern town besieged by supporters of the former president, Mohammed Morsi, as suspected militants struck at police in Sinai with a blast that wounded nine people.
Military troops and police secured the entrances to Dalga, a town of more than 100,000 people, gaining control of a police station that had been torched along with churches following Mr Morsi’s July 3 removal.
The operation marked the latest offensive by security forces to curb what officials say is rising militancy since the Islamist president was pushed from office. It came as a blast struck a bus carrying police conscripts in north Sinai, injuring eight of them and a civilian.
The violence is just one of the many challenges facing the government headed by the president, Adly Mansour, which is to oversee the drafting of an amended constitution and new elections by early next year. The presidency cited the security situation last week when it extended a state of emergency, in place since mid-August, for two months. The measures include a curfew that has gradually been eased.
Footage shown on the independent CBC satellite channel showed several armoured personnel carriers belonging to the military and police in Dalga. Roads to neighbouring villages had been closed and a curfew imposed. Security forces arrested 56 people involved in attacking police and religious facilities in the town, the interior ministry said.
Egypt’s south is a traditional stronghold for Islamist militants.
The military has been waging a battle against what it describes as terrorists in the Sinai, with officials worried the violence there could breed an insurgency in other parts of the country similar to that which plagued Egypt during the 1990s under the deposed president, Hosni Mubarak.
In the latest incident in Sinai, a blast near a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city of Al-Arish struck a bus carrying police officers. Security forces exchanged fire with gunmen following the attack.
There were conflicting reports of what caused the blast, some saying it was a landmine others that rocket-propelled grenades hit the bus. Two armoured personnel carriers were guarding the vehicle at the time of the attack.
The Sinai operation is part of a broader push to curb unrest in the country since Mr Morsi was ejected from office and more than 1,000 people – mostly his supporters –were killed in clashes with security forces. The military-backed government has arrested top Muslim Brotherhood leaders and hundreds of its members.
Yesterday, the military said it had expanded its operations in Sinai and would continue pursuing militants until the area was secured. The army’s spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Ali, said that attacks started escalating during the protests leading up to Mr Morsi’s removal. Two car bombs struck security targets in north Sinai on September 11, killing at least six people. Militants killed 25 police in the region on August 19.
Col Ali also said security forces had found and neutralised bombs planted under watch towers whose wires stretched through underground tunnels to the nearby Gaza Strip, where they could be detonated.
He said the Palestinian territory’s Islamist Hamas rulers were not doing enough to secure the border, reflecting growing impatience with the Gaza government since Mr Morsi’s removal from power. Hamas is an offshoot of the Brotherhood.
* Bloomberg News

Read more: www.thenational.ae/…/egyptian-securi…
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
10 more comments from Jésus est Dieu
Jésus est Dieu
Les chrétiens, unanimes contre une intervention en Syrie ?
La Vie, Aymeric Christensen, créé le 13/09/2013
Au plus fort de la crise internationale, le pape François organisait samedi 7 septembre à Rome une veillée de prière pour la paix en Syrie. Autour de lui, ou à ses côtés, le monde chrétien semble rassemblé dans une grande communion d'opposition à toute option militaire, même « punitive »More
Les chrétiens, unanimes contre une intervention en Syrie ?
La Vie, Aymeric Christensen, créé le 13/09/2013
Au plus fort de la crise internationale, le pape François organisait samedi 7 septembre à Rome une veillée de prière pour la paix en Syrie. Autour de lui, ou à ses côtés, le monde chrétien semble rassemblé dans une grande communion d'opposition à toute option militaire, même « punitive » contre le régime de Bachar el-Assad, donnant ainsi l'image d'une unité écrasante, sans qu'il semble y avoir la moindre contestation.
Ainsi, le supérieur général des jésuites, Adolfo Nicolas, avait d'emblée soutenu « à 100% », au nom de la Compagnie de Jésus (dont François est issu), les appels du pape en faveur de la paix. « J'avoue, déclare-t-il dans une interview diffusée par le site de la Curie jésuite à Rome, ne pas comprendre qui a donné l'autorisation aux Etats-Unis ou à la France d'agir contre un pays d'une manière qui, sans nul doute, ajoutera aux souffrances d'une population qui a déjà souffert plus qu'il n'est imaginable. La violence ou les interventions violentes comme celles qui se préparent ne sont justifiables que comme des moyens ultimes utilisés d'une manière telle qu'ils n'atteignent que les seuls coupables. Dans le cas d'un pays, cela est totalement impossible, et c'est pourquoi ce recours à la force m'est totalement inacceptable. »
Même soutien inconditionnel du côté de la lettre ouverte au président de la République François Hollande – publiée sur le site de La Vie – cosignée par deux musulmans syriens et deux chrétiens (dont le père Patrice Gourrier, bien connu de nos lecteurs), remise symboliquement le jeudi 12 septembre à Poitiers. Les auteurs de ce texte reprennent à leur compte les paroles du pape : « la violence, la guerre apportent seulement la mort, parlent de mort (...) La guerre marque toujours l’échec de la paix, elle est toujours une défaite pour l’humanité » et appellent à ne ménager aucun effort de dialogue et de négociation pour éviter un recours aux armes.
Pourtant, soutien massif ne signifie pas unanimité, et quelques voix discordantes se font entendre, émettant quelques réserves ou allant jusqu'à préférer une intervention au maintien d'un statu quo international.
C'est le cas par exemple de Jean-Louis Schlegel, qui a codirigé avec Denis Pelletier la rédaction de l'ouvrage À la gauche du Christ (Seuil). Pour lui, dans une tribune publiée par notre hebdomadaire, « il n’y aura pas, ou plus, de ”bonne solution”, c’est trop tard, et c’est déjà une victoire de MM. Assad et Poutine », au point que la conséquence pourrait être qu'« une paix à tout prix, donc à n’importe quel prix, et une paix chèrement payée » se ferait « sur le dos des peuples opprimés par des tyrans et leur police ».
Le sociologue des religions poursuit : « Il est vrai que si les insurgés gagnent la guerre, les chrétiens seront en très grand danger. Mais si la guerre dure, leur situation sera-t-elle moins terrible ? Et en cas de victoire des insurgés, il sera encore plus difficile de les protéger ou de trouver pour eux des garanties. Si Bachar gagne, que peuvent-ils espérer ? À mon avis, il n’aura pas le moindre scrupule s’il faut les sacrifier pour donner des gages aux islamistes les plus intolérants. Sans compter qu’ils resteront protégés par un tyran. Mais je ne veux pas juger à leur place : c’est la situation classique, effroyable, des catholiques dans des régimes policiers ou totalitaires, et eux seuls ont la réponse. Simplement, je ne voudrais pas qu’on parle un jour du ”silence de François”. »
Un avis que semble partager Mgr Claude Dagens, évêque d’Angoulême, dans la reprise d'une interview diffusée le 7 septembre sur RCF Accords (antenne locale du diocèse). « On dit : il faut une solution politique. Cette solution politique passe par le dialogue politique, les négociations, mais avec qui peut-on dialoguer ? Peut-on dialoguer avec Bachar el-Assad, qui sait d’avance tout ce qu’il doit faire ? Je ne le sais pas. (…) Il me semble, après réflexion, qu’un coup de semonce, un avertissement armé, fort, limité, proportionné, est nécessaire. S’il est décidé par États-Unis et la France, je le comprends, en espérant que cet avertissement armé pourra ouvrir la voie à des discussions politiques, même si le régime n’est pas renversé, mais là on entre dans l’hypocrisie politique. Voilà ce que je voulais dire au risque d’étonner un certain nombre de personnes. »
Comme un pas de côté, pourtant en écho à ce même questionnement, Isabelle de Gaulmyn s'interroge sur son blog La Croix, Une foi par semaine, sur la notion de « guerre juste », chère à de nombreux chrétiens. « Il faudra un jour bannir de la doctrine sociale de l’Eglise ce terme de ”juste” à propos de la guerre. » En effet, poursuit-elle, « le terme même de ”guerre juste” est trompeur : on voudrait une réponse binaire (juste ou injuste) alors qu’on se trouve en réalité bien plus dans la recherche du moindre mal. En matière de guerre, la doctrine sociale de l’Eglise ne pourra jamais fournir une solution définitive, parce que la guerre n’est pas une solution… . Elle n’est pas là pour ça, et toute utilisation en ce sens relève de l’instrumentalisation de l’éthique. Reste qu’en définissant les termes sur lesquels chacun peut s’accorder (légitimité, proportionnalité,..), elle permet de se poser les bonnes questions pour décider en conscience. Rien de plus, mais c’est sans doute déjà essentiel ».
Reste que « les bonnes questions » ne permettent pas toujours, comme le suggérait aussi Jean-Louis Schlegel, de faire apparaître clairement de « bonnes réponses ». Dans son éditorial de la semaine dernière, Jean-Pierre Denis, soulignait lui-même que « si l’affaire syrienne n’avait ce caractère non seulement sérieux mais dramatique et même horrible – déjà 100 000 morts et 2 millions de réfugiés –, on pourrait traiter son intervention à la légère. Le pape, comme Miss France, se déclare-t-il pour la paix et contre la guerre ? Fort bien ! Voilà une opinion tout à fait sympathique, mais de faible valeur sur le plan géopolitique ».
Insistant par ailleurs sur la faiblesse du concept de « frappe morale », le directeur de la rédaction de La Vie concluait, comme un aveu d'impasse ou d'impuissance : « Les autres scénarios, hélas, ont tous quelque chose d’un peu catastrophique. Soit il faut frapper Assad le plus fort possible, soit il faut résolument armer les « bons » rebelles, à supposer qu’ils existent sur le terrain. Les deux choix présentent des risques majeurs à moyen terme – voyez l’Irak ou la Libye. Il ne reste alors qu’à miser sur une solution politique convenant à la Russie et à l’Iran. Hypothétique et à bien des égards honteuse, cette dernière approche peut sembler la moins mauvaise sans être la plus facile ».
Les derniers développements des négociations, notamment entre les Etats-Unis et la Russie, semblent donner raison à cette dernière option. L'ONU a ainsi annoncé jeudi 12 septembre avoir reçu une demande d'adhésion de la Syrie à la convention de 1993 sur l'interdiction des armes chimiques, et une conférence de paix pourrait se tenir à la fin du mois à New York.
Jésus est Dieu
Maaloula's cathedral and churches empty of Christians as Syria's latest front-line fight takes its toll
Its churches are empty, its monasteries deserted, many pitted and holed by the battles raging around them.
By Bill Neely, International Editor, ITV News, in Damascus and Maaloula
5:00PM BST 14 Sep 2013
On Sunday thousands of Christians should have filled its streets for the festival of the Holy …More
Maaloula's cathedral and churches empty of Christians as Syria's latest front-line fight takes its toll
Its churches are empty, its monasteries deserted, many pitted and holed by the battles raging around them.

By Bill Neely, International Editor, ITV News, in Damascus and Maaloula
5:00PM BST 14 Sep 2013

On Sunday thousands of Christians should have filled its streets for the festival of the Holy Cross. But instead the streets of Maaloula are filled with soldiers and tanks, spent bullet casings and the noise of Syria's latest front-line fight.
Maaloula is a special place. It has been a safe haven for Christians for 2,000 years - until now. It was a place of refuge so secure in its rugged mountain isolation that a dialect of the language of Christ, Aramaic, is still spoken here. But not today.
Its Christian community of 2,000 has fled. In the tight alleyways and streets that wind up the Maaloula's mountainside their language has been replaced by the Arabic of two bitter enemies: rebels from three Islamist groups and the soldiers of President Bashar al-Assad.

Rollover for sound

Some 70,000 tourists a year used to come here from all over the Middle East, Europe and America to marvel at the Christianity carved into its rock. But the "Welcome to Maaloula" sign as I drove in seemed almost laughable.
There was hardly time to notice the white statue of Christ the Redeemer on the hillside before we were fired on, bullets aimed at our van, blowing our tyre and holing the chassis. We screeched to a halt and scrambled clear.
Related Articles
US and Russia agree deal over Syria's chemical weapons
14 Sep 2013
Putin 'arm-wrestled US congressman'
14 Sep 2013
Syria: US 'to drop UN military threat'
14 Sep 2013
US and Russia at 'pivotal point' in Syria talks
14 Sep 2013
John McCain to respond to Vladimir Putin in Pravda opinion piece
14 Sep 2013
Syria: Al-Qaeda-linked rebels execute regime 'militia men' in front of children
13 Sep 2013
We were caught in the middle of a town the Syrian army had declared liberated from rebel control the day before. But it was not, and for the next four hours, I witnessed a fierce battle as the army tried to dislodge the snipers of, among other groups, Jabhat al-Nusra, the fighters allied to al-Qaeda.
Their occupation of Maaloula had begun with a suicide bombing by a Jordanian that killed eight soldiers, and now saw dozens of well-trained gunmen pinning down an army of hundreds of troops and tanks.
The statues of the Virgin Mary and Christ were shrouded in smoke and dust, as every few minutes a tank shell crashed into the mountainside. Christ's message of forgiveness had been forgotten here, the Bible's teaching that the peacemakers are blessed seemed to echo from another world.
Syria's soldiers were angry and frustrated. Many didn't want us to show their faces or film their failure to recapture one of the jewels of Syria's multi-faith mosaic. Others kissed crucifixes they wore and cursed the Nusra Islamists who, as more than one assured me "were helped and trained by Britain and America".
The rebels claim they took Maaloula to punish the Christians there for supporting the Assad government, a support that is real but tepid. For most Christians in Syria the fear of what Islamists might do if they win this war outweighs any dislike they have for Assad's system.
On Saturday, in a Damascus church heavy with gold and grief, they mourned the Christians killed in the battle. The framed photographs of the dead sat next to the holy icons of the Greek Orthodox faith, some men in the pews bandaged from injuries they'd received. "We blame Obama", one woman in black yelled at me, "he should have the Nobel peace prize taken away from him - he is helping the rebels who killed our Christian brothers".
The battle for Maaloula seems a long way from the diplomatic debate abroad about Syria's chemical weapons. And so it seems across the country.
In a land weary of war, one woman personified it. Her head seemed to move heavily, her eyes slowly, as she looked up to the skies after four months in captivity. She told me she was 37 years old but she looked a decade older. She rolled up her sleeve to reveal the bruises and piercings of what she said was constant torture by her captors; rebels who accused her of being a spy.
She had been kidnapped inside a rebel held area; her religion, Alawite like Assad, raising the suspicions of Islamists and their allies who have been attacked by Assad's army there for nearly two years. So they beat her, electrocuted her, she said, women as well as men joining in the torture, week after week.
Her lips were chapped, her teeth almost orange with neglect, her whole body seemed deformed by her ordeal. She tried to stand up but could hardly walk. It was as if she had had a stroke. She escaped her torturers only because she was swapped for the wife of a rebel leader, in a prisoner exchange.
This then, is the nitty gritty of a dirty war without any end in sight. As she spoke, the battle raged all around us; the sniper fire across a sandbagged frontline; the thud of artillery shells landing amid the densely packed buildings; the occasional shouts of "Allahu Akbar", 'God is great', from across the rebel lines.
Only one small glimmer of hope emerged from her ordeal. The Syrian army commander who brokered the swap said he had many conversations on the phone with the rebel leader and had established a degree of trust. "I can talk to him", he said, "he seems like a good man. I won't trust him with everything but this is a start."
The woman, who did not want me to use her name because her brother was still missing, was lucky to escape. As the diplomats raised hopes of agreement on chemical weapons, the horrors of what conventional weapons and bitter enemies can do with them were detailed in a report on two of the most horrific massacres perpetrated here.
In May, pro-Assad forces entered the towns of al-Bayda and Baniyas, anti-government enclaves within in a loyalist area, and killed at least 248 men, women and children, according to Human Rights Watch. The sickening accounts, gleaned from witnesses, of men being separated from their families and executed together, of dead women clutching their dead children, and of corpses piled on streets and in back rooms or burned and mutilated, is familiar yet still utterly shocking.
The explanation for their deaths is that loyalist fighters wanted to clear out Sunni Muslims from the area once and for all, making the land along the Mediterranean more secure than ever for the government.
It is not that far from Baniyas to Maaloula, but Syria's tradition of Christian refuge from Arab slaughter, of tolerance for all religions, is being eroded by the brutality and desperation of a civil war that will soon have claimed 110,000 lives.
In the capital, Damascus, people are relieved to have escaped the immediate threat of more deaths, as America pushes, for now, to execute the diplomatic plan for Assad to hand over his chemical weapons, avoiding missile strikes.
"We're happy America won't attack us," a group of soldiers told me on a deserted street near their frontline, "but we're not fighting Americans, we're fighting terrorists."
Their commander questioned whether it was a good idea for Syria to give up its chemical weapons under the threat of future strikes. "We might need them," he said, "because Israel has nuclear weapons. America too. Why isn't anyone putting pressure on them?"
Many here are revelling in the seeming triumph of Russian president Vladimir Putin's diplomacy. The longtime ally of Assad has persuaded him to give up his chemical weapons and has flat footed President Barack Obama, much to the delight of government loyalists here.
Officials I've spoken to find it hard to keep the smiles off their faces. Others are a little stunned by the speed of the week's developments. "Until now, we didn't know whether the government has been lying for 40 years", said one businessman, "whether we really did have chemical weapons, or whether, like Saddam, it was a lie to make us look strong. Now we know."
Amid the sparring abroad, Syria has been forced to admit it has Sarin nerve gas, mustard gas and other poisons. I drove past one of the sites outside Damascus where these poisons are said to have been developed, but no-one knows if they're still there.
There are reports that the elite branch of Syria's army responsible for the weapons, Unit 450, has moved the stocks of gases to as many as 50 sites, many of them out in the desert to the east, perhaps to make it harder for the world to track, find and destroy.
For those who survived the chemical weapons attack three weeks ago, the diplomatic progress of the past week is cold comfort and a chilling betrayal. The residents of Zamalka, one of the neighbourhoods of the Damascus suburb of Ghouta that was attacked with chemical weapons, feel forgotten by the world. First the Americans pulled back from a bombing they hoped would avenge the deaths of their loved ones. Now, some are praising Assad, the man they believe ordered the attack, for agreeing to hand over the weapons.
The poisoned air has cleared in Zamalka but not the memories. "This is the centre of it," says one man, standing in the ruins of a house with a hole in its roof. "The rocket crashed through here and everyone within 50 yards was killed." A little boy breaks off from playing football to describe how "the chemical bomb dropped just behind me. I lost my Dad and my grandparents."
Another man says that of the 3,000 people who used to live in the area only about 200 are left; some 20 families. Their air was poisoned, now water is scarce in Zamalka. Every day the Syrian army keeps up its shelling of rebel held suburbs. One day, one area, the next, a different target.
And the plumes of smoke rise, and far beyond, the newly dead buried in the rubble of the barrage, the traffic flows and the millions who haven't fled their homes go about their business, hoping the spirit of tolerance that Maaloula represents might one day triumph over the hatred, casual killing and mass slaughter of this long war.
Jésus est Dieu
Three Big Players in the Syrian Discussion: Obama, Putin — and Pope Francis
Catholic international-conflict authority Daniel Kempton discusses the practical and moral dynamics underlying the moves taken by the leaders of the United States, Russia and the Catholic Church.
by PETER JESSERER SMITH 09/13/2013
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — As world events rapidly unfold over Syria’s chemical weapons, one thing …More
Three Big Players in the Syrian Discussion: Obama, Putin — and Pope Francis
Catholic international-conflict authority Daniel Kempton discusses the practical and moral dynamics underlying the moves taken by the leaders of the United States, Russia and the Catholic Church.

by PETER JESSERER SMITH 09/13/2013

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — As world events rapidly unfold over Syria’s chemical weapons, one thing is clear: The three most influential world leaders on the Syria crisis have proved to be Pope Francis, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama.
The Pope has positioned himself as the foremost champion of finding peaceful solutions to the conflict, and Putin has demonstrated in recent days that he has the capability to deliver diplomatic alternatives to the punishing military strikes favored by Obama over Syria’s chemical weapons.
Register staff writer Peter Jesserer Smith spoke with Daniel Kempton, a two-time Fulbright Scholar and an authority in international conflict who serves as vice president for academic affairs at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. The Register asked him how he viewed the moves made by the three major players — and how they could help bring Syria toward peace or lead to an ever-expanding circle of war.

Where do things stand right now with Syria? It looks like there are serious alternatives on the table, but President Obama is still pressing for a military option.
At this point, President Obama, to some degree, has boxed himself into a corner, because he used the argument that we should intervene specifically because of the problem of chemical weapons.
In a way, it was a bit odd, because, by many estimates, over 100,000 have died in Syria’s civil war, and only a small percentage have died from chemical weapons. Nevertheless, the president focused on this as the problem and used this as a pretext for a military strike.
The problem is the Syrians have now found a plausible way to take it off the table, saying they’ll hand over their chemical weapons to international control, which I largely expect will be Russian control. This means the problem that the president identified as a pretext for a strike is now plausibly gone.

Should the president pull back from the threat of using military force at this juncture?
Church teaching would suggest he should do so, because he identified the problem not as the civil war itself — and the injustices that are occurring — but the legal technicality of chemical weapons.
I would have argued from the beginning that killing your civilian population, whether you’re doing it with chemical weapons or conventional military means, is both illegal and inappropriate.

Do you think a just-war case could have been made for getting involved in Syria?
I think a just-war case can be made, but I’m not sure we’re ready to make it yet. One of the conditions of just-war theory is that all avenues — everything that is reasonable — have been exhausted. Given that we’ve identified a particular problem, and there has now arisen a particular solution — putting Syria’s chemical weapons under international control — I think the president is obligated to look at that very seriously.
In the last 30 years, there is a growing notion that just war can be used not only to defend yourself, but also to defend those who are undefended. In other words, a humanitarian intervention. I think that is the clearest argument here in Syria, because U.S. security interests could be harmed by the type of intervention the president is proposing.

How so?
Because of Syria and Iran’s ties to Hezbollah. If we undermine the Syrian government, we could:
a) help al-Qaida and
b) infuriate the Syrian government to the extent that it would help Hezbollah launch attacks against the U.S.
Keep in mind that, prior to 9/11, Hezbollah is the terrorist organization that had done the most to kill Americans, particularly in Lebanon, where they had blown up a Marine barracks.

So intervening militarily in Syria does not seem to have a win scenario for U.S. security interests or the Syrian people, if I understand you correctly?
That’s a fundamental problem, because one of the tenets of just-war theory is that there has to be a reasonable expectation that you are going to make things better. In other words, just-war theory is not based on the past. It’s not retribution for past injustice. It is to prevent the future loss of lives. So you have to make the argument that somehow your intervention is going to make things better for the future.
In this case, you could make it worse for the Syrian population by exacerbating the civil war, possibly leading to an outcome not in the interests of the Syrian people — and actually increase the threat to your security.
The president is correct on the legal grounds: that the use of chemical weapons is a violation of international law and is immoral. But that does not make the case in and of itself for punishing Syria — you don’t have an international right to go bomb someone to punish them for past behavior; you have to use just war to prevent future causalities.

Is the Russian diplomatic effort a vindication of Pope Francis’ position that dialogue has potential to resolve the conflict in Syria?
I think you see a more assertive Vatican in this crisis than we have seen in recent years — not since the great collaboration of John Paul II and President Reagan. The Vatican has taken a more active position, and I would argue that it’s already been somewhat effective. The Vatican has been urging the G20, including President Putin, to look for and advocate peaceful solutions.

What about President Obama’s efforts?
Rhetorically, President Obama has also done that. But he hasn’t led the diplomatic effort. This is part of the frustrating thing for the American public. We are left in the awkward position of seeing President Putin — who is traditionally no friend of human rights, certainly at home — being a more effective advocate of international peace and, frankly, a more creative diplomat in this particular situation.
Now whether President Putin is genuine in his looking for a mutually acceptable solution or not, we don’t know yet. We have to see what the Russian offer means and what the Syrian acceptance means. But I think it shows Pope Francis was clearly correct in saying all means for a peaceful solution had not yet been exhausted.

Do you think Pope Francis has been able to change the conversation about Syria?
I think he has had an effect on the conversation. We don’t know what is happening behind the scenes yet, but his more assertive position may have been part of what caused others to start looking for the more creative solutions we have seen, and coming from Moscow in particular.

What about the bigger picture of the Syrian civil war? Are there any solutions on the horizons?
I haven’t seen anything that solves the larger problem. That’s the troubling thing about the Russian proposal. It boxed in President Obama. Instead of focusing on the larger humanitarian crisis in Syria — the loss of life among the Christian community, a huge toll on the civilian population — the president focused on the very specific red line: the use of chemical weapons.
Now, he needs to make a new argument about the humanitarian problems and the need to do something about that. The Russian proposal does not do that.
You need to solve the civil-war problem, and that is going to be a delicate, long-term problem.

What happens if President Obama gets congressional approval to use force and then launches an attack on Syria? Could it provoke a wider regional war?
I do think there is a credible threat of escalation there. If Congress were to support it, and the president were to act, I think there is a credible possibility that it could create a greater regional war. By that I mean Iran directly involved in support of Syria (it is involved already behind the scenes), and it could justify a possible attack on Israel and put Israel in a precarious situation.
But the U.S. should also be very wary about the use of Middle-Eastern terrorist organizations to commit acts of global terrorism against the United States itself. I believe that is being somewhat overlooked. Hezbollah killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization before 9/11 and has deep ties to Iran and Syria. It could very well serve as a proxy organization to attack the American homeland directly. That is what I think President [Bashar] Assad was signaling when he suggested that an attack from the U.S. would be met with all available means.

Lastly, what do you think is the viability of Pope Francis’ six-point peace plan? Do you think it can get all parties to sit down and talk peace at the conference table in Geneva?
The Pope is trying to do what needs to be done. And that is to get the major parties, including those behind the scenes, at the table and to speak directly with each other about what are (and are not) the acceptable outcomes. Once we go into negotiations, there are limits to what we might achieve. But we have to have those negotiations to find a solution that would serve both American and Russian interests.

Read more: www.ncregister.com/daily-news/three-big-playe…
Jésus est Dieu
AL-QAIDA EN SIRIA
Los yihadistas llegan al grito de «Alá es grande» y piden a los habitantes que se conviertan si quieren seguir con su vida
Los pocos civiles que quedan en Malula se reparten entre el convento de Santa Tecla y unas cuevas próximas en lo alto de una montaña, que fueron la vivienda de los antiguos moradores de esta aldea situada 50 kilómetros al norte de Damasco en la que se sus …More
AL-QAIDA EN SIRIA

Los yihadistas llegan al grito de «Alá es grande» y piden a los habitantes que se conviertan si quieren seguir con su vida

Los pocos civiles que quedan en Malula se reparten entre el convento de Santa Tecla y unas cuevas próximas en lo alto de una montaña, que fueron la vivienda de los antiguos moradores de esta aldea situada 50 kilómetros al norte de Damasco en la que se sus vecinos siguen hablando arameo, la lengua de Jesús. Los grupos armados de la oposición, con presencia de brigadas del Frente Al Nusra, según informó el Observatorio Sirio de Derechos Humanos, entraron a este feudo cristiano de apenas 5.000 habitantes, cifra anterior al estallido de la guerra, el miércoles por la tarde y desde entonces combaten en sus calles y en los alrededores contra el Ejército y las milicias locales.
Una de las monjas del convento habló con la agencia AP para relatar la evacuación de algunos civiles y los huérfanos del monasterio a las cuevas y confirmó la irrupción de los opositores armados. La religiosa, que pidió mantener el anonimato, se mostró “aterrorizada” por la presencia de “milicianos islamistas” que es “la primera vez que nos atacan”.
Los opositores lograron tomar uno de los puestos de control de acceso a la localidad tras una acción suicida y en uno de los vídeos que han colgado en el canal YouTube se les ve junto a los cuerpos de soldados muertos y patrullando por Malula al grito de “¡Dios es grande!”. Miembros de la comunidad cristiana consultados en Damasco por vía telefónica aseguraron que los milicianos pidieron a los habitantes través de altavoces que se convirtieran el Islam si querían seguir vivos.
Primera mártir
Malula es junto a Jabadin y Bakah una de las tres aldeas en las que aún se habla el arameo en Siria, pero es la única que sigue siendo mayoritariamente cristiana. Se trata de un pueblecito de postal con casas marrones y malvas que cuelgan de un acantilado y al que se llega tras abandonar la autopista que une la capital con Homs y afrontar una carretera estrecha y muy escarpada de montaña.
En Santa Tecla reposan los restos de una de las primeras mártires del cristianismo
Así se llega a este lugar donde hasta 2011 estaba abierta una escuela de verano en la que una veintena de lugareños impartían clase de arameo a vecinos y estudiantes venidos de todo el mundo. Resulta difícil de escribir, pero fácil de hablar, según los lingüistas que la califican de “una lengua más cercana al hebreo que al árabe”. No hay libros de texto y apenas unas veinte mil personas en total lo hablan en todo el país, pero el arameo sigue vivo gracias al esfuerzo de aldeas como Malula.
El convento de Santa Tecla es el más importante de la aldea ya que aquí reposan los restos de la que es considerada una de las primeras mártires del cristianismo. Cuenta la leyenda que Santa Tecla estaba huyendo de los romanos, que le querían matar por su conversión al cristianismo, y se vio acorralada al llegar frente a la montaña. Entonces, Dios abrió un desfiladero en mitad de la roca para que la santa escapara. El mismo camino que han tomado ahora las religiosas de su convento y le resto de civiles en búsqueda de un lugar a salvo de los enfrentamientos.
Jésus est Dieu
ASIA/SIRIA - Maalula, terra di martiri: la morte in odium fidei del giovane Sarkis
Damasco (Agenzia Fides) – Per i cristiani siriani Maalula, il villaggio cristiano a Nord di Damasco, attaccato nei giorni scorsi da gruppi armati islamisti, è già “terra di martiri”. Grazie a una testimone oculare, una donna cristiana di nome A. (anonima per motivi di sicurezza), attualmente in ospedale a Damasco …More
ASIA/SIRIA - Maalula, terra di martiri: la morte in odium fidei del giovane Sarkis

Damasco (Agenzia Fides) – Per i cristiani siriani Maalula, il villaggio cristiano a Nord di Damasco, attaccato nei giorni scorsi da gruppi armati islamisti, è già “terra di martiri”. Grazie a una testimone oculare, una donna cristiana di nome A. (anonima per motivi di sicurezza), attualmente in ospedale a Damasco, Fides ha ricostruito nel dettaglio la sorte dei tre cristiani uccisi a Maalula. Le loro esequie si sono celebrate il 10 settembre a Damasco, nella cattedrale greco-cattolica, in una celebrazione presieduta dal Patriarca melkita Gregorio III Laham, alla presenza di vescovi di altre confessioni.
Secondo quanto racconta a Fides la donna, i gruppi armati sono penetrati il 7 settembre in molte case dei civili, distruggendo e terrorizzando, colpendo tutte le immagini sacre. In una casa vi erano tre uomini greco cattolici Mikhael Taalab, suo cugino Antoun Taalab, Sarkis el Zakhm, nipote di Mikhael, e la donna A., loro parente, che racconta l'episodio. Gli islamisti hanno intimato a tutti i presenti di convertirsi all’islam, pena la morte. Sarkis ha risposto con chiarezza: “Sono cristiano e se volete uccidermi perchè sono cristiano, fatelo”. Il giovane è stato ucciso a sangue freddo, con gli altri due. La donna è rimasta ferita ed è salva per miracolo, in seguito condotta in ospedale a Damasco. “Quello di Sarkis è un vero martirio, una morte in odium fidei”, dice a Fides Suor Carmel, fra i cristiani di Damasco che assistono gli sfollati di Maalula. I presenti al funerale erano molto commossi. Oggi gli sfollati di Maalula, in maggioranza a Damasco, rimarca la suora, “chiedono solo di poter tornare alle proprie case, in pace e sicurezza”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/9/2013)
Jésus est Dieu
Syrien: Scharfschützen in Maalula
des Internetauftritts von Radio Vatikan
Das christliche Dorf Maalula ist in den letzten Tagen mehrmals von islamistischen Rebellen heimgesucht worden. Das berichtet die Nachrichtenagentur asianews. Körper von getöteten Christen lägen an den Straßenrändern, viele Wohnhäuser und Kirchen seien zerstört. Maalula liegt 60 Kilometer nördlich von Damaskus; es ist die …More
Syrien: Scharfschützen in Maalula
des Internetauftritts von Radio Vatikan

Das christliche Dorf Maalula ist in den letzten Tagen mehrmals von islamistischen Rebellen heimgesucht worden. Das berichtet die Nachrichtenagentur asianews. Körper von getöteten Christen lägen an den Straßenrändern, viele Wohnhäuser und Kirchen seien zerstört. Maalula liegt 60 Kilometer nördlich von Damaskus; es ist die Wiege der christlich-syrischen Tradition und der einzige Ort auf der Welt, wo noch Aramäisch gesprochen wird. Anfang September sind nach Medienberichten islamistische Rebellen in den Ort eingedrungen. Der muslimische Scheich von Maalula hat nach asianews-Angaben die Übergriffe der Rebellen auf Christen verurteilt. Im Thekla-Kloster sollen sich Scharfschützen verschanzt haben, ein großer Teil der christlichen Einwohner ist nach asianews-Angaben geflohen. Die syrischen Streitkräfte hätten eine Offensive zur Rückeroberung gestartet. Erschwert werde das Vorhaben dadurch, dass die Armee keine schweren Geschütze einsetzen wolle, um die historischen Bauten nicht zu zerstören. Maaloula gehört u.a. wegen seiner frühchristlichen Höhlenkirchen zu den Weltkulturstätten der Unesco.
Nach Schätzungen sollen im syrischen Bürgerkrieg in zweieinhalb Jahren mindestens 110.000 Menschen umgekommen sein. 1,3 Millionen sind ins Ausland geflohen; etwa 4,2 Millionen sind innerhalb des Landes auf der Flucht. Von den 21 Millionen Einwohnern des Landes waren vor dem Bürgerkrieg 90 Prozent Muslime und 6,3 Prozent Christen, davon jeweils drei Prozent Katholiken und Orthodoxe plus kleine Gruppen von Protestanten. Die übrige Bevölkerung bestand aus Nichtreligiösen oder Anhängern anderer Religionen. Die Christen sind zwischen die Fronten von Regierung und Rebellen geraten. Sie genossen unter dem Regime von Baschar al-Assad relative Glaubensfreiheit; von den Aufständischen werden sie als seine Verbündeten verfolgt und verschleppt.
(asianews/zenit/idea/rv 11.09.2013 sk)
Jésus est Dieu
L‘inquiétant profil des djihadistes français en Syrie
Marginaux et méconnaissant l'islam, ces jeunes isolés et autoradicalisés reviennent avec l'aura du combattant.
Censée financer un djihad idéalisé, l'opération de Pieds Nickelés a tourné au calamiteux fiasco. L'affaire des cinq islamistes écroués pour avoir braqué, le 4 septembre dernier, le restaurant Quick de Coignières (Yvelines) afin …More
L‘inquiétant profil des djihadistes français en Syrie

Marginaux et méconnaissant l'islam, ces jeunes isolés et autoradicalisés reviennent avec l'aura du combattant.

Censée financer un djihad idéalisé, l'opération de Pieds Nickelés a tourné au calamiteux fiasco. L'affaire des cinq islamistes écroués pour avoir braqué, le 4 septembre dernier, le restaurant Quick de Coignières (Yvelines) afin de payer leur départ pour la Syrie est symptomatique du profil des apprentis terroristes poussant en germe sur notre territoire. Ceux que Manuel Valls appelle «les ennemis de l'intérieur».
Munis d'armes factices, âgés de 23 à 34 ans, ils avaient raflé à peine 2500 euros en espèces avant de fuir. Sans imaginer une seconde qu'ils étaient surveillés depuis des mois par le contre-espionnage et la Direction du renseignement de la Préfecture de police de Paris (DRPP). Les policiers les avaient détectés le 16 septembre 2012, lors d'un rassemblement de protestation organisé place de la Concorde contre le film L'Innocence des musulmans, qui avait ulcéré la galaxie islamique.
Jusqu'alors inconnus de la justice - hormis l'un d'eux, condamné en 2005 pour vol aggravé, convertis pour certains, tous actifs dans les manifestations contre l'islamophobie, ces marginaux ont tour à tour été cueillis en région parisienne et à Châteauroux (Indre). Mis en examen pour «vol avec arme et complicité de vol en relation avec une entreprise terroriste», ces Français ont reconnu vouloir prendre le chemin de Damas pour rejoindre la rébellion hostile au régime de Bachar al-Assad. Un de leurs acolytes, originaire de Trappes (Yvelines), aurait déjà fait le voyage.
Selon Manuel Valls, il y a actuellement «120 Français ou résidents en France» qui combattent en Syrie, sans qu'il soit toujours possible d'établir s'ils se battent avec l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL) ou au sein du foisonnant maquis des groupes islamistes radicaux. À eux seuls, ils représenteraient environ 60 % de la totalité de nos compatriotes engagés dans les rangs d'al-Qaida à l'étranger.
«Romantisme de l'action extérieure»
Pour nombre d'experts, tenter d'esquisser leur profil revient à faire de la psychiatrie tant ces candidats sont désocialisés et en quête de repères. «Ces convertis font preuve d'une ignorance pyramidale de l'islam, ne parlent pas l'arabe et n'ont jamais lu le Coran, observe Alain Chouet, ancien chef du renseignement à la Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (DGSE). Autoradicalisés et embrigadés par des imams wahhabites prêchant le retour à l'âge d'or du Prophète, ils sont bercés dans une sorte de romantisme de l'action extérieure et de la résistance à l'oppression.» La propagande d'Internet achève de vriller les esprits. Plusieurs vidéos, visionnées des milliers de fois sur YouTube, appellent les Français à la «guerre sainte» contre la «tyrannie de Bachar».
Les vocations se cristallisent devant l'ordinateur et forment ce que l'antiterrorisme nomme désormais le «nomadisme individuel». «Les candidats au djihad partent seuls et assez facilement vers la Syrie, note Alain Chouet. Aucune filière organisée n'est nécessaire. Il suffit de prendre un autocar pour Istanbul, où la plupart des résidents européens peuvent se rendre sans passeport ni visa, puis de traverser la Turquie jusqu'à la frontière syrienne où les aspirants djihadistes sont pris en charge. Au total, le voyage aura coûté entre 300 et 500 euros…»
«Les petits volontaires français sont souvent relégués à faire la cuisine, à porter l'eau et les gamelles »
Un spécialiste du djihadisme
Une fois en Syrie, ces apprentis français connaissent des lendemains qui déchantent. «Considérés sur place avec mépris parce qu'ils ne savent pas se battre et ne connaissent rien à la géographie ni à la réalité de cette guerre, les petits volontaires français sont souvent relégués à faire la cuisine, à porter l'eau et les gamelles», assure un spécialiste. En d'autres termes, rares sont finalement ceux qui ont l'occasion de se battre d'emblée les armes à la main, à l'image du chef rebelle franco-syrien Abdel Rahman Ayachi, alias Abou Hajar, mort en «martyr» le 19 juin dernier. Mais les Européens auraient la réputation d'apprendre vite sur le tas.
Faute de pouvoir disposer de sources humaines fiables dans les zones de conflits, les services peinent à déterminer si les djihadistes vont juste au contact des groupes armés, s'ils offrent un appui logistique, fût-il, modeste ou s'ils sont éjectés vers les camps de réfugiés. «Pour donner le change, ils se mettent un joli keffieh sur la tête et une kalachnikov en bandoulière pour parader sur Facebook», à l'image de Nicolas et de son défunt frère Jean-Daniel, djihadistes toulousains.
Appelés à revenir en France avec l'aura du combattant pour recruter d'autres radicaux et susceptibles d'avoir appris le maniement des explosifs, ces bataillons d'apprentis djihadistes constituent une bombe à retardement. Car la justice ne saurait les punir sans preuve. Surveiller chacun d'eux sera donc le défi, pour ne pas dire la gageure, que devra relever la Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI) sachant qu'une dizaine de fonctionnaires sont parfois nécessaires pour contrôler un seul suspect. Or, l'affaire Merah a montré que le moindre relâchement peut virer à la tragédie.
Alerte rouge dans les zones montagneuses du Sahel
Les services de renseignements nourrissent une vive inquiétude à propos de la situation au Sahel. Depuis quelques semaines, ils ont observé d'inédits déploiements de groupes armés dans les zones montagneuses, notamment dans les massifs de l'Adrar des Ifoghas (nord-est du Mali), et dans le Tibesti saharien, laissant apparaître un retour de flamme de la menace islamiste. «On peut craindre une nouvelle réaction des djihadistes, retranchés dans ce secteur accidenté, décrypte Éric Dénécé, directeur du Centre français de recherche sur le renseignement. Ayant vu leur force de frappe détruite de près d'un tiers depuis l'intervention française, les combattants radicaux ont soif de vengeance.»
Des sources informées confient que les sites d'Areva implantés dans la région ont été mis en alerte rouge. 3200 soldats français encore déployés au Mali restent des cibles. Les terroristes pourraient aussi viser leurs soutiens tchadiens et nigériens. Transitant par le sud de la Libye, l'ouest du Soudan ou encore la Mauritanie, ces combattants sont embrigadés par le mouvement al-Mourabitoune. «Il y a déjà probablement une poignée de Français au Sahel», a récemment confirmé Manuel Valls. Deux d'entre eux, dont Cédric Lobo, 27 ans, avaient été interpellés en février dernier alors qu'ils projetaient de se rendre à Tombouctou à bord d'un 4 × 4 volé. Les experts craignent que la reprise des opérations, sous forme d'attentats ou de prises d'otages, ne suscitent de nouvelles vocations dans les banlieues françaises
Jésus est Dieu
Maaloula, ville témoin du désarroi des chrétiens syriens
Deux jours après être entrée dans Maaloula, ville chrétienne syrienne située à 55 kilomètres au nord de Damas, l'armée continuait jeudi de pourchasser les rebelles, repoussés dans un quartier de la ville et dans un hôtel qui surplombe ce haut lieu de la chrétienté au Moyen-Orient, où l'on parle encore l'araméen, la langue de Jésus.…More
Maaloula, ville témoin du désarroi des chrétiens syriens

Deux jours après être entrée dans Maaloula, ville chrétienne syrienne située à 55 kilomètres au nord de Damas, l'armée continuait jeudi de pourchasser les rebelles, repoussés dans un quartier de la ville et dans un hôtel qui surplombe ce haut lieu de la chrétienté au Moyen-Orient, où l'on parle encore l'araméen, la langue de Jésus. Alors que l'immense majorité de ses 2000 catholiques de rite grec ont fui les combats en fin de semaine dernière, des volontaires chrétiens sont désormais en première ligne aux côtés de l'armée pour déloger les insurgés qui ont pris le contrôle de Maaloula dimanche, au terme de combats nocturnes qui ont fait 17 morts et de nombreux blessés parmi les opposants à Bachar el-Assad et des dizaines de morts dans les rangs des forces gouvernementales. «Les combats se concentrent dans la partie ouest de Maaloula, qui est une ville fantôme», affirme Dima Nassif, de la chaîne de télévision al-Mayadeen, l'une des journalistes à avoir pu se rendre dans cette cité légendaire où l'on trouve des refuges troglodytiques datant des premiers siècles du christianisme. «J'entendais les soldats et les insurgés s'insulter à cent mètres les uns des autres, dit-elle. Il y a eu des pillages dans des maisons, mais seulement quelques dégradations d'édifices religieux», précise-t-elle. Huit jours d'une bataille lancée par les radicaux islamistes, davantage pour terroriser les chrétiens et les faire partir de cette ville symbole que pour les tuer, sous l'œil initialement bienveillant d'un régime qui a cherché à profiter de la caisse de résonance médiatique autour de ces combats.
Jésus est Dieu
Syria: Maaloula's Mother Superior Rejects Claims of Rebels Pillaging Monastery
The Mother Superior at an ancient Syrian monastery has denied pro-Assad propaganda claims that Christian holy sites have been pillaged by rebels battling for control of the city of Maaloula.
Intense clashes between Syrian government troops and opposition forces, some of them linked to al-Qaida, have forced the majority …More
Syria: Maaloula's Mother Superior Rejects Claims of Rebels Pillaging Monastery

The Mother Superior at an ancient Syrian monastery has denied pro-Assad propaganda claims that Christian holy sites have been pillaged by rebels battling for control of the city of Maaloula.

Intense clashes between Syrian government troops and opposition forces, some of them linked to al-Qaida, have forced the majority of residents to flee the historic Christian town north of Damascus, which was a pilgramage site for Christians and Muslims alike.
The violence has raised concerns that several churches and the important Greek Orthodox nunnery Mar Thecla - visited by Christians and Muslims for its alleged miraculous healing properties - could be damaged or destroyed in the fighting.
Reports circulated that the monastery was pillaged by rebel forces. But Pelagia Sayaf, the Mother Superior at Mar Thecla, denied those reports in an interview with Reuters.
The British-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 18 rebel fighters have been killed and over 100 injured during the fighting, which has seen militia loyal to Assad temporarily enter Maaloula before being pushed back by rebel forces. Reuters claims that Maaloula changed hands three times in just six days.
"The army pulled back to the outskirts of the village and both [rebel groups] are in total control of Maaloula now," Abdul-Rahman, a spokesman for the SOHR, said.

Members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra front have said they now renounce any intention to occupy Maaloula.
"Soon we will withdraw from this city not out of fear but to leave its homes to their owners. They were not our target. Our target was mainly military," a member of Nusra said in a YouTube video.
Christians account for 10% of Syria's population.
Thousands of Christians around the world gathered to feast and pray for peace in Syria last Saturday, following a five-hour prayer session led by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square.
Jésus est Dieu
Patriarch Gregorius: Christians shot and forced to flee Syrian village of Maaloula
Text from page en.radiovaticana.va/…/en1-727603
of the Vatican Radio website

(Vatican Radio) Patriarch Gregorius Laham says three Catholics were shot dead and its Christian inhabitants were forced to flee from the village of Maaloula near the Syrian capital after it was seized by Al Qaida-affiliated rebels on Saturday …More
Patriarch Gregorius: Christians shot and forced to flee Syrian village of Maaloula

Text from page en.radiovaticana.va/…/en1-727603
of the Vatican Radio website

(Vatican Radio) Patriarch Gregorius Laham says three Catholics were shot dead and its Christian inhabitants were forced to flee from the village of Maaloula near the Syrian capital after it was seized by Al Qaida-affiliated rebels on Saturday. Clashes between Syrian government troops and the rebels have been raging for over a week in and around Maaloula, an historic and predominantly Christian village that is home to two of the oldest surviving monasteries in Syria. Patriarch Gregorius who is the spiritual leader of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church spoke to Susy Hodges from his residence in Damascus.

Listen to the full interview with Patriarch Gregorius Laham:

Patriarch Gregorius said he presided over the funeral on Tuesday for the three young Catholic men who were shot dead by the rebels when they took control of Maaloula over the weekend, describing it as a very “sorrowful” and emotion-charged liturgy. He said virtually all the Christian inhabitants fled from the village and he was told by some witnesses that when the rebels moved into Maaloula they threatened some Christians with death unless they converted to Islam.

The Patriarch also spoke of damage caused by the shelling and fighting to the oldest monastery there and to a number of its churches but says exact information about the extent of the damage is not yet available. He said he believed the rebels who captured the village were partly from the Al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra front and partly from other opposition factions.

Asked for his reaction to the fading threat of an imminent American military strike against Syria, Patriarch Gregorius said they were all very grateful to Pope Francis for his decision to hold a world day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria on September 7th and said the new diplomatic proposal by Russia has given all of them new hope that diplomacy rather than force will prevail. He said the threatened American military intervention against the Syrian regime had caused fear and “deep trauma” among the Catholic community there in Damascus.