ASIA/SYRIA - A parish priest: "The exodus of civil Christians from Qara, invaded by foreign jihadists" - Fides News Agency

Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - Christian and non-Christian villages, in the north of Damascus, are targeted by foreign jihadist armed groups, bringing only death and destruction. This is what was stated by Fr. George Louis, a Greek - Catholic parish priest of the Church of San Michele in Qara, which was ravaged and burned. The priest explains: "Maalula, Sednaya, Sadad, then Qara and Deir Atieh, now Nebek: the armed jihadist apply the same model: they target a village, invade it, kill, burn and devastate. For Christians or non-Christians, life is always more difficult. The militia act outside the control of our foreign Syrian compatriots of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), who instead are respectful towards everyone, and do not want to raze the entire country".



Fr. Louis reports what happened in Qara between 16 and 20 November. For months, the village lived in a particular "status quo", in a regime of "semi-autonomy", with the tacit agreement between the FSA and the Syrian army. There was no conflict although the town was under the control of the FSA. The state meanwhile continued to supply electricity, and water services to the population.
When made things worse, says Fr. George, is when "on November 16, more than 3,000 jihadists entered the village, turning it into a battlefield.

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ASIA/SYRIA - A parish priest: "The exodus of civil Christians from Qara, invaded by foreign jihadists" - Fides News Agency