Fighting continues in northern Syria – as NATO-backed Al Qaeda militants desecrate churches, displace local population, and impose “Sharia law.”
Fighting on the Syrian-Turkish border near the northwestern Syrian town of Kassab between Al Qaeda insurgents Jabhat Al Nusra and the Syrian military continues for the fifth day.
Insurgents are shelling the towns near Kassab in Latakia province while the military is returning fire on their positions.
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Point 45, a strategic hilltop overlooking Latakia’s countryside and Kassab, was regained by the Syrian army, initially lost to the mlitants flooding in from the Turkish side of the border.
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Meanwhile the insurgents are reported to have moved through Kassab village reaching the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
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No Response from the Predictably Silent United Nations
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The Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Bashaar al Jaafari, has sent an official letter to the UN Security Council regarding Turkey’s support of the Al Qaeda offensive in Syria. Early in the battle Turkey shot down a Syrian jet firing at Al Qaeda targets flooding in from the Turkish border. In turn Russia proposed a UN Security Council statement on Al Qaeda’s shelling of Latakia province.
Armenians gathered Wednesday outside UN Commission headquarters in the Armenian capital Yerevan to protest what they saw as a Turkish-led Al Qaeda attack on the Armenian village in Kassab. Thousands of Armenians settled in Syria after the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The Attack on Kassab resulted in thousands of Armenians fleeing the area.
“We condemn UN silence over this crime and believe that it is a tacit approval of Turkey’s conduct,” the protestors told journalists.
Protesters handed the UN Commission a letter that condemned the attack, describing it as a violation of international law and a breach of international commitments.
The Armenian president thanked the Syrian government for protecting Armenians in Kassab in a press conference, while on Wednesday members of Armenian parliament visited Latakia and met with Kassab Armenians to report on the situation.
Image: Armenians protest the United Nations silence on AlQaeda’s attack in Yervan
Churches Desecrated
The Al Qaeda affiliated insurgents launching the offensive have ransacked churches (as they have in other areas of Syria), removing all crosses and removing the faces from many statues. The insurgents also began seizing and destroying alcohol citing that it is now contraband under their version of “Sharia law.” Early signs of the Sharia courts have been seen in other rebel held areas in the country.
Images: Al Qaeda militants tweet that they have removed all crosses from churches and that alcohol is now contra ban.
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