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Syria: UN condemns the destruction of the Armenian Church in Deir Ezzor
The Office of the United Nations for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday
condemned the destruction mid-September of the Armenian Church in the
city of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria by "Daech", the Arabic name
Islamic group in Iraq and the Levant (EIIL) state.
"We condemn the destruction of the church and other religious
institutions," said the spokesman of the OHCHR, Rupert Colville, at a
press conference in Geneva.
OHCHR reported that clashes between Syrian government forces and armed
opposition groups cause destruction of religious and archaeological
heritage of this country, and the number of attacks by opposition
groups against religious people and buildings including churches, has
risen sharply this year.
"Government forces continue to place military targets close to
cultural sites and even sometimes turn military bases. The Commission
of Inquiry on Syria has documented several specific examples in its
reports ", said the spokesman.
"We are also concerned about the fate of the Syriac Archbishop Yohanna
Ibrahim, and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi, Aleppo. The
two men were abducted in Aleppo in April 2013, and the priest Paolo
Dall'Oglio, who was kidnapped in Al-Raqqah in January, "he added.
OHCHR noted that staff and religious heritage should be given special
protection under international humanitarian law that all stakeholders
are required to comply.
Sunday, October 5, 2014,
Stéphane © armenews.com
http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=103954
Syria: UN condemns the destruction of the Armenian Church in Deir Ezzor
The Office of the United Nations for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday
condemned the destruction mid-September of the Armenian Church in the
city of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria by "Daech", the Arabic name
Islamic group in Iraq and the Levant (EIIL) state.
"We condemn the destruction of the church and other religious
institutions," said the spokesman of the OHCHR, Rupert Colville, at a
press conference in Geneva.
OHCHR reported that clashes between Syrian government forces and armed
opposition groups cause destruction of religious and archaeological
heritage of this country, and the number of attacks by opposition
groups against religious people and buildings including churches, has
risen sharply this year.
"Government forces continue to place military targets close to
cultural sites and even sometimes turn military bases. The Commission
of Inquiry on Syria has documented several specific examples in its
reports ", said the spokesman.
"We are also concerned about the fate of the Syriac Archbishop Yohanna
Ibrahim, and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi, Aleppo. The
two men were abducted in Aleppo in April 2013, and the priest Paolo
Dall'Oglio, who was kidnapped in Al-Raqqah in January, "he added.
OHCHR noted that staff and religious heritage should be given special
protection under international humanitarian law that all stakeholders
are required to comply.
Sunday, October 5, 2014,
Stéphane © armenews.com
http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=103954