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CHRISTIANS IN ALEPPO FORM ARMED MILITIA; JOIN ARMENIANS
National Post (Canada)
September 13, 2012 Thursday
All but Toronto Edition
by Ruth Sherlock And Carol Malouf, The Daily Telegraph
BEIRUT - Christians in Aleppo have taken up arms and formed their
own militias for the first time.
The Christian community has tried to avoid taking sides in the Syrian
civil war.
In Aleppo, it recruited vigilantes from the Boy Scout movement to
protect churches, but as the war moved into the city and spread across
its suburbs it has begun to accept weapons from the Syrian army and
joined forces with Armenian groups to repel opposition guerrillas.
"Everybody is fighting everybody," said George, an Armenian Christian.
"The Armenians are fighting because they believe the [Free Syrian Army]
are sent by their Turkish oppressors to attack them, the Christians
want to defend their neighbourhoods, Shabiha regime militia are there
to kill and rape, the army is fighting the FSA, and the [Kurdish
militant group] PKK have their own militia, too."
For the past six weeks, up to 150 Christian and Armenian fighters have
been trying to prevent FSA rebels from entering Christian heartland
areas of Aleppo.
Last month, the Syrian army claimed a "victory" in removing FSA
fighters from the historic Christian quarter of Jdeideh. But Christian
militia fighters claimed they had first attacked the FSA there.
"The FSA were hiding in Farhat Square in Jdeideh. The church committees
stormed in and cleansed the area. Then the Syrian army joined us. They
claimed the victory on State television," said George, who like many
Christian refugees is too scared to give his full name.
"The rebels were threatening the churches."
Snipers' positions and checkpoints had appeared in the area, defined
by boutiques, narrow cobbled streets and the spires and cupolas of
the Maronite, Orthodox and Armenian churches, residents said.
"FSA snipers were on the rooftops and they were attacking the Maronite
church and Armenian residents there," said a former clergyman calling
himself John, now in Beirut, who said he had witnessed the fighting.
The battle for Aleppo has become bitter, with jihadist groups playing
a more prominent role than in any other city.
It has become increasingly scarred by accusations of atrocities
on both sides, most recently the mass killing of 20 regime troops,
whose bodies were displayed on a video apparently put on the internet
by a rebel militia.
Aleppo residents said its minorities feared that they would suffer
the same fate as Christians in Iraq, who were targeted in sectarian
violence after the 2003 war.
"They are shouting, 'The Alawites to the graves and the Christians
to Beirut'," said an Armenian mother of four who recently fled,
echoing a claim made by several other Christian refugees.
John said that, contrary to reports, the city's minority groups and
wealthy residents were not all regime supporters. But he said they
felt they had to protect themselves from "peasant immigrants" who
were using the war to destroy the city's sophisticated heart.
In Aleppo Wednesday, four Syrian Armenians were reported killed and
13 wounded in an ambush near the airport.
From: A. Papazian
National Post (Canada)
September 13, 2012 Thursday
All but Toronto Edition
by Ruth Sherlock And Carol Malouf, The Daily Telegraph
BEIRUT - Christians in Aleppo have taken up arms and formed their
own militias for the first time.
The Christian community has tried to avoid taking sides in the Syrian
civil war.
In Aleppo, it recruited vigilantes from the Boy Scout movement to
protect churches, but as the war moved into the city and spread across
its suburbs it has begun to accept weapons from the Syrian army and
joined forces with Armenian groups to repel opposition guerrillas.
"Everybody is fighting everybody," said George, an Armenian Christian.
"The Armenians are fighting because they believe the [Free Syrian Army]
are sent by their Turkish oppressors to attack them, the Christians
want to defend their neighbourhoods, Shabiha regime militia are there
to kill and rape, the army is fighting the FSA, and the [Kurdish
militant group] PKK have their own militia, too."
For the past six weeks, up to 150 Christian and Armenian fighters have
been trying to prevent FSA rebels from entering Christian heartland
areas of Aleppo.
Last month, the Syrian army claimed a "victory" in removing FSA
fighters from the historic Christian quarter of Jdeideh. But Christian
militia fighters claimed they had first attacked the FSA there.
"The FSA were hiding in Farhat Square in Jdeideh. The church committees
stormed in and cleansed the area. Then the Syrian army joined us. They
claimed the victory on State television," said George, who like many
Christian refugees is too scared to give his full name.
"The rebels were threatening the churches."
Snipers' positions and checkpoints had appeared in the area, defined
by boutiques, narrow cobbled streets and the spires and cupolas of
the Maronite, Orthodox and Armenian churches, residents said.
"FSA snipers were on the rooftops and they were attacking the Maronite
church and Armenian residents there," said a former clergyman calling
himself John, now in Beirut, who said he had witnessed the fighting.
The battle for Aleppo has become bitter, with jihadist groups playing
a more prominent role than in any other city.
It has become increasingly scarred by accusations of atrocities
on both sides, most recently the mass killing of 20 regime troops,
whose bodies were displayed on a video apparently put on the internet
by a rebel militia.
Aleppo residents said its minorities feared that they would suffer
the same fate as Christians in Iraq, who were targeted in sectarian
violence after the 2003 war.
"They are shouting, 'The Alawites to the graves and the Christians
to Beirut'," said an Armenian mother of four who recently fled,
echoing a claim made by several other Christian refugees.
John said that, contrary to reports, the city's minority groups and
wealthy residents were not all regime supporters. But he said they
felt they had to protect themselves from "peasant immigrants" who
were using the war to destroy the city's sophisticated heart.
In Aleppo Wednesday, four Syrian Armenians were reported killed and
13 wounded in an ambush near the airport.
From: A. Papazian