A SYRIAN VILLAGE EMPTIED AS CHRISTIANS FLEE FIGHTING

The Observers / France 24
March 27 2014

Jihadist rebel factions launched an offensive against the village of
Kassab on Saturday, leading Christian Armenian and Alawite residents
to flee. Today, Kassab is empty. Most of its inhabitants have taken
refuge in Latakia, a regime stronghold.

Kassab, located in northwestern Syria at the border with Turkey, was
the only Armenian village in the region. Local Christian Armenian
families settled in the region in 1915 to escape genocide on the
part of the Ottoman empire. The village was also home to an Alawite
minority.

A rebel commander that participated in the fighting told FRANCE 24
that the residents “started packing their bags after hearing the
first gunshots” at dawn on Saturday, March 22, the first day of the
offensive. He added that “the Armenian population is not targeted
and their possessions will be safeguarded”. Pro-opposition channels
have shared videos on social media that show rebel fighters helping
residents leave the village.

Abdallah Mhesne is a Saudi preacher that travels with rebel factions
in the Syrian north, and who is currently posted in the outskirts
of Kassab. He describes on his Twitter account (see below) how he
“entered a Christian home [in Kassab] with the brothers. They did
not touch anything … but the crosses, wine bottles, and pig meat
were destroyed”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress