Tornado Alley (PROG)

[Garden Rose]

Ancient Syria's Christian village freed from jihadist siege - military to RT

Published time: September 11, 2013 12:12

The village of Maaloula, to the west of Damascus, a major symbol of Christianity in the region, has been freed from rebel extremist control, RT’s correspondent reports from Syria, citing the country’s military.

The news comes from RT’s Maria Finoshina, currently based in Syria, who has been trying to verify the information.

On Saturday Finoshina and her crew became caught in crossfire at Maaloula as government forces were on a mission to force Al-Nusra Front rebels out of the village.


The Al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters carried out several attacks on Maaloula since last Wednesday, having by Sunday gained control over the village.


Reports suggest that some rebels are still in Maaloula, despite the government forces’ attempts to force them out.

"The army has not yet retaken Maaloula,” a Syrian security source was cited by AFP as saying. “The battles are raging on, but [the army] is making progress."

The agency also cited locals as saying that the rebels were shooting at crosses, and that they forced at least one resident to convert to Islam.

http://rt.com/news/syria-christian-village-freed-711/

Note: some may consider this propaganda, to those I say, don't read it.