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JIHADISTS TORCHES STATUES, CROSSES IN SYRIA CHURCHES: NGO
Agence France Presse
September 26, 2013 Thursday 5:24 PM GMT
BEIRUT, Sept 26 2013
Jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda set fire to statues and crosses
inside churches in northern Syria on Thursday and destroyed a cross
on a church clock tower, a watchdog said.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters entered the
Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in the northern
city of Raqa and torched the religious furnishings inside, the Syria
Observatory for Human Rights said.
They did the same at the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs,
and also destroyed a cross atop its clock tower, replacing it with
the ISIL flag, the Observatory said.
Most of Raqa, located on the banks of the Euphrates River and capital
of the province of the same name, fell to anti-regime fighters
in March.
Where the ISIL dominates in the city, it imposes a strict version of
sharia (Islamic law) on the populace.
The London-based Observatory denounced these attacks "against the
freedom of religion, which are an assault on the Syrian revolution."
Not only have there been attacks on Christian places of worship in
Syria, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country wracked by more than two
years of civil war, but also on Shiite Muslim mosques.
Additionally, Christians clerics have been kidnapped, and some brutally
murdered, by jihadists.
In January, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, Sarah
Leah Whitson, said: "The destruction of religious sites is furthering
sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country.
"Syria will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed
groups do not respect places of worship."
The New York-based group said that "while some opposition leaders
have pledged to protect all Syrians, in practice the opposition has
failed to properly address the unjustified attacks against minority
places of worship."
At the outset of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad,
rebels welcomed the support of jihadist groups, largely made up of
foreign fighters.
But the jihadists, where they have reached a position of dominance
in specific parts of the country, are increasingly alienating the
native population.
On Thursday, an ISIL commander from the United Arab Emirates was killed
in fighting with Kurds in the north of Syria, the Observatory said.
Agence France Presse
September 26, 2013 Thursday 5:24 PM GMT
BEIRUT, Sept 26 2013
Jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda set fire to statues and crosses
inside churches in northern Syria on Thursday and destroyed a cross
on a church clock tower, a watchdog said.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters entered the
Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in the northern
city of Raqa and torched the religious furnishings inside, the Syria
Observatory for Human Rights said.
They did the same at the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs,
and also destroyed a cross atop its clock tower, replacing it with
the ISIL flag, the Observatory said.
Most of Raqa, located on the banks of the Euphrates River and capital
of the province of the same name, fell to anti-regime fighters
in March.
Where the ISIL dominates in the city, it imposes a strict version of
sharia (Islamic law) on the populace.
The London-based Observatory denounced these attacks "against the
freedom of religion, which are an assault on the Syrian revolution."
Not only have there been attacks on Christian places of worship in
Syria, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country wracked by more than two
years of civil war, but also on Shiite Muslim mosques.
Additionally, Christians clerics have been kidnapped, and some brutally
murdered, by jihadists.
In January, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, Sarah
Leah Whitson, said: "The destruction of religious sites is furthering
sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country.
"Syria will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed
groups do not respect places of worship."
The New York-based group said that "while some opposition leaders
have pledged to protect all Syrians, in practice the opposition has
failed to properly address the unjustified attacks against minority
places of worship."
At the outset of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad,
rebels welcomed the support of jihadist groups, largely made up of
foreign fighters.
But the jihadists, where they have reached a position of dominance
in specific parts of the country, are increasingly alienating the
native population.
On Thursday, an ISIL commander from the United Arab Emirates was killed
in fighting with Kurds in the north of Syria, the Observatory said.