Jihadists torch statues, crosses in Syrian churches

Jihadist fighters linked to the Al-Qaeda set fire to statues and crosses inside churches in Northern Syria, and destroyed a cross on a church clock tower, a watchdog said. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters entered the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in the Northern city of Raqa and torched the religious furnishings inside, the Syria Observatory for Human Rights said. They did the same at the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs, and also destroyed a cross atop its clock tower, replacing it with the ISIL flag, the Observatory said, AFP reported. Additionally, Christians clerics have been kidnapped, and some brutally murdered, by jihadists. In January, the Middle-East director of Human Rights Watch, Sarah Leah Whitson, said, "The destruction of religious sites is furthering sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country. "Syria will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed groups do not respect places of worship." The New York-based group said that "while some opposition leaders have pledged to protect all Syrians, in practice the opposition has failed to properly address the unjustified attacks against minority places of worship." At the outset of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, rebels welcomed the support of jihadist groups, largely made up of foreign fighters. But the jihadists, who have reached a position of dominance in specific parts of the country, are increasingly alienating the native population. On Thursday, an ISIL commander from the United Arab Emirates was killed in fighting with Kurds in the North of Syria, the Observatory said. A report on Thursday said that Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Syria have destroyed several Jewish mausoleums in the historical town of Tadouf in the Northern city of Aleppo. Militants reportedly demolished a number of the most ancient Jewish mausoleums in Aleppo in North of Syria. Foreign-backed militants have so far destroyed many religious sites in Syria since the unrest began in 2011. Earlier this month, members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front attacked the historical Christian village of Maaloula near the capital, Damascus, and destroyed parts of it, before Syrian security forces arrived to repel them. Three of the seven historical churches in the village were burnt by the anti-Damascus militants. Maaloula – a mountain village of 2,000 residents, 60km Northeast of Damascus - is a major pilgrimage destination for Christians from around the world. It’s home to some of the most ancient Orthodox Christian relics and is also one of the very few places in the world where people still speak Aramaic, a biblical-era language that Jesus is believed to have spoken. In mid-August, The Syrian armed rebels killed tens of civilians and injured dozens more by attacking two Christian-populated villages in Homs countryside. A group of extremist armed rebels attacked two villages of Al-Hasn and Marmarita mostly populated by Christian citizens, killed more than 15 villagers and injured many more. The Syrian army, however, repelled the attacks and pushed back the militants who were trying to capture other villages of Homs countryside in Western Syria. The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when sporadic pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states. The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle-East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history. As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri extremists. Washington has remained indifferent to warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.