Al Qaeda linked rebel fighters seized control of a predominantly Christian village to the northeast of Damascus Monday. After heavy fighting, Syrian rebels took over Maaloula, a village with an ancient Christian heritage. Residents describe the fierce battles in the streets and the shouting of “Allah Akbar” as the rebel fighters descended on the city and began attacking Christian homes and churches. USA Today reports: “They shot and killed people. I heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street in the old quarters of the village,” the resident said by telephone. “So many people fled the village for safety.” Now, he said, Maaloula “is a ghost town. Where is President Obama to see what befallen on us?” asked the man, who fled the village on Sunday. He declined to give his name out of fear for his safety. Another resident who escaped earlier in the day said Assad’s forces were deployed on the outskirts of the village, while gunmen inside refused to allow anybody in. He said that one of the churches, called Demyanos, had been torched and that gunmen stormed into two other churches and robbed them. A third resident reached by phone said he saw militants forcing some Christian residents to convert to Islam.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 12:20:46 +0000
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