Terrified Christians claim Syrian rebels
ordered them to convert to Islam on pain of death when they ‘liberated’
their ancient village. Opposition forces, including fighters linked to
Al Qaeda, gained temporary control of the Christian village of Maaloula
after fighting with regime forces.
One Maaloula resident said the rebels, many of whom had beards and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great), attacked Christian homes and churches shortly after moving into the village.
‘They shot and killed people. I
heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a
street in the old quarters of the village. Where is President Obama to
see what has befallen us?’
Another Christian resident
said: ‘I saw the militants grabbing five villagers and threatening them
and saying, “Either you convert to Islam, or you will be
beheaded”.’ Another said one church had been torched, and gunmen stormed
into two other churches and robbed them.
The beautiful mountain village, 25 miles from Damascus, is one of the
few places in the world where residents still use the ancient language
of Aramaic, which was spoken by Jesus and his disciples.
It has become a key strategic battleground in the Syrian civil war
because of its proximity to the capital. It was held by President
Assad’s regime, but taken at the weekend in a rebel advance spearheaded
by the hardline Islamist al Nusra Front.
Villagers said they heard several foreign accents among the rebels,
with many feared to be Al Qaeda fighters imported into the conflict. A
villager said he heard mainly Tunisian, Libyan, Moroccan and Chechen
dialects.
In a video posted online, a rebel commander shouted at the camera:
‘We cleansed Maaloula from all the Assad dogs and all his thugs.’ But
Syria’s state news agency claimed the rebels had withdrawn and the
regime had regained the village, saying: ‘The army inflicted heavy
losses in the ranks of the terrorists.’
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