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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian opposition's ultimatum to Christians: "Leave Qusayr" |
| 2012-06-10 |
| More of the usual Sunni Arab tolerance for minority faiths. Non-Sunnis and non-Arabs should expect a Rwanda-scale massacre when the Sunni Arabs take over behind the aegis of the NATO air forces. The message sent out by the military chief of the armed opposition has spread panic and lead to a Christian exodus An exodus of Christians is taking place in Western Syria: the Christian population has fled the city of Qusayr, near Homs, following an ultimatum issued by the military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba. This is what local sources told Vatican news agency Fides, pointing out that since the conflict broke out, only a thousand of the city's ten thousand faithful, were left and they are now being forced to flee immediately. Some of the city's mosques have issued the message again, announcing from the minarets: "Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, ending Friday." The ultimatum therefore expired on 8 June and spread fear among the Christian population which had started to regain hope as a result of the presence of the Jesuit Fr. Paolo Dall'Oglio, who stopped off in Qusayr for a week to "pray and fast in the name of peace, right in the midst of conflict." The reasons for this ultimatum remain a mystery. Some say it is necessary in order to protect faithful from further suffering; other sources reveal "a continuity in discrimination and selective repression." Others still claim that Christians have openly expressed their loyalty to the state and this is why the opposition army is chasing them away. Now Christian families in Qusayr have begun their exodus as displaced persons, towards the surrounding valleys and rural areas. Some have taken refuge in parents' and friends' homes in Damascus. Very few families have courageously decided to stay behind in their birth city but who knows what fate will meet. Fides sources have reiterated that groups of Salafi Islamic extremists within the armed opposition consider Christians as "infidels"; they confiscate their belongings, carry out mass executions and are ready to declare a "denominational war". |
| Posted by:Zhang Fei |
| #11 Why should the US care about the fate of Christians in a Muslim country? We are not a Christian nation. /sarcasm |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2012-06-10 15:17 |
| #10 This dovetails nicely with the new reports on the Houala massacre where it seems to be that mostly non-Sunnis were the victims. And that the Sunni rebels were the perps. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2012-06-10 14:53 |
| #9 Making Pencilneck look good is a tough job but I believe these rebels are up to it. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2012-06-10 14:34 |
| #8 I like that one, Dr. Steve |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-06-10 11:43 |
| #7 Resettle the Christians on the Syrian part of the Golan Heights, and give them Israeli protection. Make that new region an independent, sovereign state with UN membership (that'll really cheese off the Paleos). |
| Posted by: Steve White 2012-06-10 11:33 |
| #6 its sad to say it but the Christians really, really, really should leave Syria Or we could stand aside as the Alawites encourage the Sunni Arabs to emigrate to a country more friendly to their intolerant views, such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2012-06-10 10:09 |
| #5 its sad to say it but the Christians really, really, really should leave Syria the West can't protect them; in fact even if we had an administration honest enough to admit the problem we still could do little about it |
| Posted by: lord garth 2012-06-10 07:26 |
| #4 The Sunnis seem to be more intolerant than the shiites.Have we chosen the wrong side supporting MB and the Salafis in Saudi. Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia will be proud of this religious cleansing in the Middle East. |
| Posted by: Fester Clunter7205 2012-06-10 06:39 |
| #3 The nice people whom the entire World wants to help. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-06-10 02:45 |
| #2 Thank you, Zhang Fei. I think I have corrected the headline link. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-06-10 00:51 |
| #1 Link: http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/world-news/detail/articolo/siria-syria-15868/ |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2012-06-10 00:12 |