Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - As fighting continues in Aleppo between government forces and the insurgents, the Christian communities of the Syrian city have decided to set up a steering committee to provide humanitarian assistance to the people in difficulty and refugees. According to local sources contacted by Fides Agency, the committee consists of 11 people representing 11 Christian communities in Aleppo.
"We will try to find a way to ensure a degree of safety in neighborhoods inhabited by Christians and to ensure that they do not leave their homes so that what happened in Homs is not repeated here, where the houses abandoned by fleeing civilians were used as benchmarks by fighters. And this provoked the massacre in the Christian areas of Homs," say our sources.
"We hope that the appeal for dialogue launched on Sunday by the Holy Father (see Fides 30/07/2012) is welcomed both in Syria and the international community" emphasize Fides sources recalling also that the "economic sanctions taken against the regime actually hit the poorest of the population. Wealthy people have fled to Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey, but the poor have nothing to deal with this situation."
"Dialogue is the only way to find peace and to achieve democracy, based on respect for the rights of all" conclude Fides sources. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 31/07/2012)
