A nun sounded the alarm that the Syrian conflict was becoming sectarian when she said that a Christian man was beheaded by Syrian rebels in the northern town of Ras al-Ayn on the Turkish border, and his body was fed to dogs, a British newspaper reported Monday.
Sister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix speaking from her sanctuary in Lebanon said the newlywed taxi driver, Andrei Arbashe, was kidnapped after his brother was heard complaining that the rebels fighting against beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad were behaving like bandits, The Daily Mail reported.
The 38-year-old Arbashe, who was soon to be a father, was found headless by the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs, Sister Agnes-Miriam, who is mother superior of the Monastery of St James the Mutilated, added.
“His only crime was his brother criticized the rebels, accused them of acting like bandits, which is what they are.”
Mid-December, the newly formed Syrian National Coalition obtained wide recognition including from the United States and the European Union. France and British were one of the earliest countries from the Western world that recognized the coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people in November.
But Western powers until now are hesitant on whether to supply the opposition fighters with weapons. Western support so far has been in terms of non-lethal military equipment.
Meanwhile, the 60-year-old nun condemned Britain and the West for supporting anti-Assad fighters in spite of growing evidence showing human rights violations committed by them. She listed murder, kidnapping, rape and robbery as rising crimes.
“The free and democratic world is supporting extremists,” Sister Agnes-Miriam said from her sanctuary in Lebanon. “They want to impose Sharia Law and create an Islamic state in Syria.”
In December, Washington blacklisted the opposition al-Nusra Front group, saying it was linked to al-Qaeda. U.S. officials fear that groups such as al-Nusra Front to hijack the 21-month Syrian uprising. The Syrian conflict killed more than 45,000 people.
Christians in Syria, who many of them still support Assad regime, were previously given concessions by the Syrian regime to appease them. The Christians, a minority , also skeptical over regime change in the country as they fear the rise of Islamists.
