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CHRISTIANS FLEE SYRIA'S KESSAB, ARMENIA ACCUSES TURKEY
ALALAM, Iran
April 1, 2014 Tuesday
The Syrian army is trying to retake the Christian majority town of
Kessab reportedly seized by al-Qaeda-linked forces. The attack made
hundreds of ethnic Armenians flee and caused international outcry
with Armenia blaming Turkey for supporting extremists. Kessab -
located in Syria's Latakia province, near the border with Turkey -
fell to militants sparking a fierce battle in the media as conflicting
reports are coming in about the events in the town which is home to
over 2,000 ethnic Armenians.
Reportedly, on March 21, foreign backed extremist groups affiliated
with al-Qaeda crossed into Syria from Turkey and seized the town after
clashes with Syrian government troops and local self-defense squads.
According to the Armenian side, the militants were supported by
Turkish forces. Ankara denied the allegations as "totally unfounded
and untrue". The relations between Armenia and Turkey have long been
strained over Ankara's refusal to recognize Armenian genocide after
WWI. With the help of local self-defense forces and the Syrian army the
majority of ethnic Armenians managed to flee Kessab and are currently
resided on the territory of an Armenian church in the coastal city
of Latakia, Arman Saakyan, Armenian MP from the Republican Party
said. The residents of the town managed to escape in the very last
moment before "their homes were attacked," Bugus Kazaryan, the chair
of the Armenian Community Council in Latakia told RT. He said around
850 families from Kessab - "not only Armenians, but also residents of
other nationalities" - have currently taken shelter in Latakia. They
fled the town in order to let the Syrian Army "destroy the terrorists
who only came to Syria to kill, they've got no other goals," Kazaryan
said. "The bombardment started early morning.
We struggled to save our son. We were laying on the ground because
of the heavy bombing. We could take nothing from our home," Kessab
resident Hrach Chegelian told RT. During the past several days a
number of reports have been circulating in media and online, claiming
violent atrocities by militants, manslaughter of Armenians in the
area. However, so far, there is no confirmed information that any of
Kessab's civilians died due to fighting. NJF/NJF
ALALAM, Iran
April 1, 2014 Tuesday
The Syrian army is trying to retake the Christian majority town of
Kessab reportedly seized by al-Qaeda-linked forces. The attack made
hundreds of ethnic Armenians flee and caused international outcry
with Armenia blaming Turkey for supporting extremists. Kessab -
located in Syria's Latakia province, near the border with Turkey -
fell to militants sparking a fierce battle in the media as conflicting
reports are coming in about the events in the town which is home to
over 2,000 ethnic Armenians.
Reportedly, on March 21, foreign backed extremist groups affiliated
with al-Qaeda crossed into Syria from Turkey and seized the town after
clashes with Syrian government troops and local self-defense squads.
According to the Armenian side, the militants were supported by
Turkish forces. Ankara denied the allegations as "totally unfounded
and untrue". The relations between Armenia and Turkey have long been
strained over Ankara's refusal to recognize Armenian genocide after
WWI. With the help of local self-defense forces and the Syrian army the
majority of ethnic Armenians managed to flee Kessab and are currently
resided on the territory of an Armenian church in the coastal city
of Latakia, Arman Saakyan, Armenian MP from the Republican Party
said. The residents of the town managed to escape in the very last
moment before "their homes were attacked," Bugus Kazaryan, the chair
of the Armenian Community Council in Latakia told RT. He said around
850 families from Kessab - "not only Armenians, but also residents of
other nationalities" - have currently taken shelter in Latakia. They
fled the town in order to let the Syrian Army "destroy the terrorists
who only came to Syria to kill, they've got no other goals," Kazaryan
said. "The bombardment started early morning.
We struggled to save our son. We were laying on the ground because
of the heavy bombing. We could take nothing from our home," Kessab
resident Hrach Chegelian told RT. During the past several days a
number of reports have been circulating in media and online, claiming
violent atrocities by militants, manslaughter of Armenians in the
area. However, so far, there is no confirmed information that any of
Kessab's civilians died due to fighting. NJF/NJF