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World:
Patrick Cockburn: Persecution of the Christians:
Syrian minority fear the end of fighting more than war itself
In his final dispatch from Syria, Patrick Cockburn reports from
Maloula on the plight of the country's Christian minority, who fear an
end to the fighting more than the war itself
Two masked men armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles tried to
kidnap a businessman called George Alumeh in the ancient Christian town
of Maloula, north-west of Damascus, last week. It was not the first kidnap
attempt on richer members of the Christian community here and Mr
Alumeh was prepared. He fought back, first drawing a pistol, hurling his
car keys away so his car could not be stolen, and then trying to escape. He
got away, but was hit by a burst of gunfire from the kidnappers which has
sent him to hospital with stomach, leg and hand wounds.
Father Mata Hadad, the priest of the Convent of St Tikla built into the
mountain wall that towers over Maloula, tells the story to illustrate how
life has become more dangerous for Christians, particularly for those
thought to have money. The 10 per cent of the Syrian population who are
Christians are debating with trepidation the likely outcome of the Syrian
crisis and its effect on them.