SitiWanMahani - Tempat Selamat utk Pemberontak di Kampung Kristian? 'Mereka tahu Amerika Syarikat tidak akan mengebom tapak UNESCO’. Tentera kerajaan Syria sedang menjalankan operasi terhadap pejuang pemberontak gabungan Al ‘Qaeda, yang telah mengepung kampung purba Kristian Maaloula. Tentera berkata pelampau telah mengambil kedudukan yang strategik di atas bukit berdekatan - dan masih terdapat pasukan pemberontak dalam kampung. laporan Maria Finoshina dari pinggir Maaloula.
Christian village rebels' safe haven? 'They know US won't bomb UNESCO site'. Syria government forces are conducting an operation against AL-Qaeda-affiliated rebel fighters, who have besieged the ancient Christian village of Maaloula. The army says the extremists have taken strategic positions on nearby hills - and there are still rebel forces inside the village. Maria Finoshina reports from the outskirts of Maaloula.
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Kampung Kristian Syria dalam Kebakaran Salib sebagai kuasa Kerajaan cuba untuk memerah pemberontak Al ‘Nusra . . .
SitiWanMahani - Pertempuran sengit antara pemberontak dan tentera rejim terus di kampung sebagian besar Kristian Syria Maaloula, yang sebelum ini sebahagiannya dimusnahkan oleh pemberontak bergabung Al ‘Qaeda.
“Terdapat pertempuran hanya di dalam bandar di daerah barat antara Jawatankuasa Popular (militia) dan pasukan pemberontak,” pengarah Balai Cerap Syria bagi Hak Asasi Manusia, Rami Abdul Rahman, memberitahu AFP.
“Terdapat juga pertempuran antara tentera yang disokong oleh militia dan pejuang pemberontak di sekitar kawasan salah satu daripada pintu masuk ke Maaloula,” katanya.
Televisyen negeri memetik sumber tentera melaporkan beberapa pemberontak telah dibunuh dan senjata mereka dimusnahkan sebagai tentera mensasarkan hotel dan kedudukan sekitar di pinggir Maaloula, utara Damsyik, di mana sekumpulan pemberontak ditempatkan.
Maaloula - sebuah kampung gunung 2,000 penduduk, 60km timur laut Damsyik - adalah rumah kepada beberapa peninggalan yang paling kuno Kristian Ortodoks dan merupakan destinasi suci utama. Ia juga salah satu daripada beberapa tempat di DUNIA di mana orang ramai masih bercakap Aramaic, dipercayai bahasa alkitabiah yang telah digunakan era Nabi Allah Isa Alayhis Sallam.
Seorang krew berita RT pergi ke laman, tetapi tidak dibenarkan masuk ke bandar untuk tujuan keselamatan.
Syrian Christian village in crossfire as govt forces try
to squeeze out Al Nusra rebels . . .
Heavy fighting between rebels and regime forces continues in Syria’s predominately Christian village of Maaloula, which was earlier partially destroyed by Al-Qaeda affiliated rebels.
"There are clashes just inside the town in the western district between Popular Committees (militia) and rebel forces," director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, told AFP.
"There are also clashes between soldiers backed by militias and rebel fighters around the area of one of the entrances to Maaloula," he said.
State television citing a military source reports several rebels have been killed and their weapons destroyed as the army targeted a hotel and surrounding positions on the outskirts of Maaloula, north of Damascus, where a group of rebels were stationed.
Maaloula – a mountain village of 2,000 residents, 60km northeast of Damascus - is home to some of the most ancient Orthodox Christian relics and is a major pilgrimage destination. It’s 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.
An RT news crew traveled to the site, but was not allowed to enter the city for safety reasons.
Militan, kira-kira 300 orang, bersembunyi [sic] di hotel Safir, terdapat gua purba di bawahnya kampung - mereka menggunakan mereka juga. Mereka menonton kita - dan kita melihat mereka, tetapi jika kita mula bergerak - mereka akan menyerang kita. Tetapi tidak mungkin sebelum matahari terbenam, “kata seorang askar tentera Syria memberitahu RT Maria Finoshina.
Bagaimanapun, pembangkang Gabungan Kebangsaan Syria berkata anggota Free Syrian Army telah ditarik balik dari Maaloula awal minggu ini, selepas memusnahkan posts tentera di Maaloula.
Awal minggu ini, laporan menunjukkan bahawa militan telah memecahkan kampung dan mengebom gereja-gereja Kristian dengan mortar, laman Al ‘Ain Surya dilaporkan. Satu kebakaran berlaku di kuil Nabi Elijah (Elia), dan bangunan itu mengalami kerosakan.
Gabungan Kebangsaan berkata mereka berada di kawasan itu selama beberapa jam, “tetapi tidak menyerang mana-mana gereja atau biara”. Sementara itu, kerajaan Syria menghantar bala bantuan, termasuk kereta kebal dan kakitangan pembawa perisai.
“The militants, around 300 people, hide [sic] in Safir hotel, there are ancient caves there under the village – they use them as well. They watch us – and we watch them, but if we start moving – they'll attack us. But unlikely before the sunset,” a Syrian army soldier told RT’s Maria Finoshina.
However, the opposition Syrian National Coalition said members of the Free Syrian Army had withdrawn from Maaloula earlier this week, after destroying army posts at Maaloula.
Earlier this week, reports indicated that militants had broken into the village and shelled Christian churches with mortars, the Surya al-Ain website reported. A fire broke out in the temple of the Holy Prophet Elijah, and the building suffered damage.
The National Coalition said they were in the area for several hours, "but did not attack any church or convent". Meanwhile, the Syrian government sent reinforcements, including tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Tentera kerajaan telah mengambil kedudukan di luar kampung, Rami Abdul Rahman berkata, sambil menambah bahawa adalah pertempuran pada hari Jumaat di sekitar kampung, yang dalam senarai UNESCO cadangan tapak warisan DUNIA.
“Tentera Syria merancang satu operasi untuk membersihkan Maaloula dari pemberontak Jabhat Al ‘Nusra. Terdapat khabar angin bahawa pemberontak telah meninggalkan kampung, tetapi tentera berkata, mereka masih ada. Walaupun mereka meninggalkan Maaloula, mereka boleh menyembunyikan berhampiran dan kembali balik, "laporan wartawan RT ini.
Terdahulu pada hari Khamis, kapal terbang perang kerajaan melancarkan 3 serangan udara ke atas pemeriksaan yang dipegang oleh pemberontak.
Sehingga hari ini, kampung gunung ini 2,000 penduduk berhampiran Damsyik, telah berjaya untuk kekal kebanyakannya tidak terjejas oleh perang saudara yang menurut anggaran PBB, telah meragut lebih 100,000 nyawa.
Government forces have taken up positions outside the village, Rami Abdul-Rahman said, adding that were clashes on Friday around the village, which is on a UNESCO list of proposed world heritage sites.
“The Syrian army plans an operation to clear Maaloula from Jabhat al Nusra rebels. There have been rumors that the rebels have left the village, but the army says they’re still there. Even if they leave Maaloula, they can hide nearby and return,” RT’s correspondent reports.
Earlier on Thursday, government war planes launched three air strikes on the checkpoint held by the rebels.
Until Wednesday, this mountain village of 2,000 residents near Damascus, had managed to remain mostly unaffected by the civil war that, according to UN estimates, has already claimed more than 100,000 lives.
