Rebels including al-Qaeda-linked fighters gained control of a Christian village northeast of the capital Damascus, Syrian activists said on Sunday.
Reports quoting government media said a scenic mountain community known for being one of the few places in the world where residents still speak the ancient Middle Eastern language of Aramaic was attacked by the rebels.
The village is on a UNESCO list of tentative world heritage sites.
The chairman of the Maronite General Council also condemned the assault on Christians in Maloula located on the outskirts of Damascus.
Wadie el-Khazen said what happened in Maloula at the hands of Islamic extremists “is a brutal targeting to the most important Christian stronghold in Syria and the Middle East.”
“Is it the fate of Christians in the Middle to be always the firewood of violence? This violence has long been condemned in all its forms by Pope Francis I, who called for the adoption of peaceful solutions to crises and conflicts?” Khazen said.
“We have seen a sample of the most dangerous form of threat to the principle of coexistence that prevailed in our communities for decades. In all of these decades, we have not known such brutal attacks on small groups without reason,” he said.
Sources
Image: Reuters/The Globe and Mail