Syria Islamist rebels seize Christian town

[jakeXT]

27. Christians flee Syria village that speaks the language of Jesus

Christians flee Syria village that speaks the language of Jesus


Christians in Syria were fleeing one of the oldest Christian towns in the world on Sunday, after regime forces failed to win it back from Islamist rebel fighters.

Rebel groups, including a branch of al-Qaeda, have taken control of Maaloula, one of the few remaining villages where the language of Christ is still spoken, residents and activists reported.

“Our army, the Syrian army, has failed us,” said Sister Antoinette, a nun from Maaloula, claiming the regime had forsaken control of the town. “We called the army, we begged them to come inside Maalouola and save us but they stayed outside. They sold us because we are a minority. They abandoned us because we are Christians.”


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Villagers told the Daily Telegraph that, having won control of much of the town, the rebel groups had turned on each other, with the hardline Jabhat al-Nusra, who believes in turning Syria into an Islamic emirate seeking to force the more moderate FSA fighters from the are.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10294711/Christians-flee-Syria-village-that-speaks-the-language-of-Jesus.html