Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Aleppo (Agenzia Fides) - The city of Aleppo has been without water again for two days. The repeated suspension of water supplies in recent weeks has become an instrument of pressure in the hands of rebel militias that surround the metropolis of northern Syria and maintain under its control pumping stations. From time to time, and in spite of the raising awareness and mediation implemented by the operators of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the water supply is suspended for days and the civilian population is suffering from yet another collective punishment, even more oppressive in the hot summer months. "In our churches and mosques" says to Fides Agency the Armenian Catholic Archbishop Boutros Marayati, in order to meet the emergency we have reactivated ancient wells that provide access to groundwater faults. Families come to fetch water to wash and clean their clothes". But also the same water is used for drinking, although it is not drinkable. This increases the risk of infections and epidemics.
In recent days, His Exc. Mgr.
Marayati went along with the Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo to visit the district of al-Maidan, inhabited by Armenians and subjected for weeks to a massive rocket fire by the rebels. "We found homes and schools destroyed" refers the Archbishop to Fides, "and many people have sought refuge in churches, which are also targeted. All are taken by the necessity of daily survival. There is also the concern for the news that comes from outside, such as the capture of the Iraqi city of Mosul by Islamists. That such a large city could fall in that way, from one day to another, here it is seen as a worrying sign". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 17/06/2014)
