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Syrian troops launch offensive to retake jihadist-held Christian village

Sep 10, 2013 9:35 am By Robert Spencer

But if Obama gets his way, we’ll be stopping the Syrian troops soon and letting the jihadis do whatever they want with the Christians.

“Syrian troops launch offensive to retake rebel-held Christian village, activists say,” from the Associated Press, September 9:

BEIRUT “” Syrian troops launched an offensive Monday against rebel-held positions on hills overlooking a mainly Christian village as they moved to regain control of the ancient community near the capital, Damascus, activists said.

The battle for Maaloula, has stoked fears among Syrian Christians that the alternative to Assad’s regime “” which is made up mostly of Alawites, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam “” would not tolerate minority religions. Such concerns have helped Assad retain the support of large chunks of Syria’s minority communities, including Christians, Alawites, Druze and ethnic Kurds. Most of the rebels and their supporters are Sunni Muslims.

Diplomatic efforts to end the 2 ½ year conflict gained momentum as Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem welcomed a call from Russia, its close ally, to place the country”s chemical arsenals under international control to avert a U.S. strike, but he did not offer a time frame or any other specifics.

Al-Moallem’s remarks, made during a visit to Moscow, appeared to mark the first official acknowledgment by Damascus that it possesses chemical weapons. But it remained to be seen whether the statement represented a genuine goodwill gesture by Syria or simply an attempt to buy time.

The United States has been seeking international support for limited strikes against Assad’s government, which it accuses of using chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 assault near the Damascus. The U.S. cites intelligence reports as saying the attack killed at least 1,429 people, including more than 400 children, though other estimates are much lower. President Barack Obama is also seeking authorization from Congress for the strikes.

Assad’s regime denies the allegations and blames rebels, whom it calls terrorists, for staging strikes to gain international sympathy.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier Monday that Assad could resolve the crisis by surrendering control of “every single bit” of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week. Kerry reiterated the U.S. position that there is very compelling evidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against his own people.

Assad warned in an interview broadcast Monday on CBS that there will be retaliation against the U.S. for any military strike against Syria.

“You should expect everything. Not necessarily from the government,” he said when asked to elaborate, an apparent reference to the possibility the regime could unleash allied militant groups such as the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. He added that the U.S. would “pay the price if you are not wise with dealing with terrorists.”

He also denied that he was behind the attack, saying his soldiers were “in another area” at the time and noting that no evidence has been presented.

Meanwhile, Belgian writer Pierre Piccinin who was freed Sunday after four months of captivity in Syria said upon his return to Europe that he and his fellow captive, Italian journalist Domenico Quirico, were certain that the Assad regime was not responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack.

“It’s not the government of Bashar al-Assad that used the sarin gas or another combat gas … we are sure about it following a conversation that we overheard,” Piccinin said in an interview with Belgian broadcaster RTL….

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Filed Under: Muslim persecution of Christians, Syria


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