A branch of al-Qaeda fighting in the Syrian civil war has seized one of the few remaining villages where the original language of Christ is still spoken, residents say.
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| A Syrian rebel vehicle with a heavy machine gun driving in Maaloula. Photo: REUTERS |
Fighting raged through the picturesque mountain village of Maaloula, near
Damascus, on Thursday, as the regime launched a counter-attack against the
rebels.
"They entered the main square and smashed a statue of the Virgin Mary," said
one resident of the area, speaking by phone and too frightened to give his name.
"They shelled us from the nearby mountain. Two shells hit the St Thecla
convent."
Maaloula, tucked into the honey-coloured cliffs of a mountain range north of
Damascus and on a "tentative" list of applicants for Unesco world heritage
status, is associated with the earliest days of Christianity.
St Thecla, who is supposedly buried in the convent, was a follower of St Paul
who fled to the village in Syria to avoid marriage,
having taken an oath of chastity. It is said that the cleft of rock in which the
convent is placed opened up to allow her to escape her pursuers.
The inhabitants are mostly Melkite Greek Catholic and Orthodox Christians,
but have historically lived peacefully alongside a Sunni Muslim minority. It is
one of only three places in the world where Western Aramaic, a dialect of the
language spoken by Christ, is still used.
Until recently, the town had managed to remain mostly unaffected by the civil
war that has already claimed more than 100,000 lives. A visit by The Daily
Telegraph last year found it ringed by government checkpoints but suffering
from the lack of pilgrims and tourists who are normally vital to its economy.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, rebel groups, a mix of the extremist Jabhat al-Nusra and the more moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA), attacked with full force.
"First they took a brick factory owned by a Christian guy, who is now missing," said the resident. "Then at around 5.30am, a car bomb detonated at the checkpoint at the entrance to the village.
"Some of the rebels entered a home near the checkpoint belonging to Yousef Haddad, a Christian. They tried to force him to convert to Islam."
A nun living in a convent in the village told the Associated press that 27 orphans living in the convent were taken to nearby caves for shelter.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, rebel groups, a mix of the extremist Jabhat al-Nusra and the more moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA), attacked with full force.
"First they took a brick factory owned by a Christian guy, who is now missing," said the resident. "Then at around 5.30am, a car bomb detonated at the checkpoint at the entrance to the village.
"Some of the rebels entered a home near the checkpoint belonging to Yousef Haddad, a Christian. They tried to force him to convert to Islam."
A nun living in a convent in the village told the Associated press that 27 orphans living in the convent were taken to nearby caves for shelter.
God have mercy. Such cowards, attacking innocent, unarmed nuns, orphans, and peaceful people. And where did they get those weapons? From our own US funding?
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