Tales from village-turned-battlefield: Maaloula siege survivors talk
Published on Russia Today RT, Sept 20, 2013 (with a video, 3.34 min).
… The Syrian village of Maaloula is considered a symbol of Christianity in Syria and is one of only a few places where the Aramaic language – believed to have been spoken by Jesus Christ – is still used by both the Muslim and the Christian residents. Home to some 2,000 residents, the village is on a UNESCO list of proposed world heritage sites.
Maaloula, which before this month managed to stay untouched by the two-year-long conflict, is a strategically important location for the rebels who want it under control to increase pressure on government defenses in Damascus.
At the beginning of September rebel jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front took over the town. Several attempts by government troops to drive them out of the village have so far not succeeded.
For more on the Maaloula residents who escaped the village-turned-battlefield watch RT Maria Finoshina’s report from Damascus.
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UN: Thousands of children fleeing Syria alone, vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, on RT, Sept 21, 2013.