Desecrated relics of KessabJabhat al-Nusra extremist group militants raided the Armenian Evangelical Holy Trinity Church and Missakian Cultural Center in Kessab. L’observatoire de la Christianophobie French website posted the photos of destroyed and desecrated churches of Kessab after liberation of the town. June 25, 2014 PanARMENIAN.Net - On March 21, 2014, Turkish forces shelled Armenian-populated villages of Syria in violation of international laws, further opening the border for militants to seize the region. Along with the surrounding Armenian-populated villages, Kessab, a home to 2,5-3000 Armenians, is located near the Syrian-Turkish border. After Kessab was seized, militants tore off the cross from an Armenian church, replacing it with a black Islamist flag. On June 16, the top commandment of Syrian armed forces stated that stability in Kessab and adjacent province of Latakia was restored and the extremist militants pushed out, with the terrorist attempt to form a springboard for attacks with a sea outlet at the Turkish border thwarted.
At present, houses and streets of Kessab are fully demined, with utility services operating and electricity supplies restored. According to mayor Vasken Chaparian, 250 out of 600 Armenian families who left the town are back, restoring Armenian presence in the lands of the historic Cilicia. Earlier, at the meeting with the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad promised that Kessab Armenians will return to their homes and was true to his word. Following the Kessab tragedy, Armenians and Alawites accused the Prime Minister Erdogan-led Turkish government of triggering the attack. Armenians who fled to Latakia told the BBC Turkish Service about the attack which forced them to leave their homes. "One morning we were woken up by loud explosions and had to flee to Kessab at once, with no clothes, money or passports. We just wanted to survive," a female resident of Kessab recalls. Some Armenians stayed in Kessab, only sending women and children to Latakia.
"We're afraid to go back, though we've been told its safe now. Still, 7 Armenians and 2 Alawites went missing, with their fates unknown. Who will give us safety guarantees? I saw an Armenian church raided, stripped of decorations, icons and burned down. All the museum artifacts were destroyed,” a priest named Gevorg reminisced. Kessab self-defense units and Hezbollah Syrian Shiite group participated in the liberation of the town, Ora Pro Siria reported citing the patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni. At his visit to a church of St. Michael, the patriarch saw ruined icons, broken crosses, burnt liturgy books, with the place rendered unusable for religious services. According to the patriarch, Islamists’ only goal was to prevent the church from being used as a house of prayer. The parochial school was also demolished.
Jabhat al-Nusra extremist group militants raided the Armenian Evangelical Holy Trinity Church and Missakian Cultural Center in Kessab. Nerses Bedros XIX hopes that the majority of refugees will return to their homes in Kessab. Karine Ter-Sahakian / PanARMENIAN.Net, Photo: Fraternità Maria Gabriella Most popular in the section A non-exhaustive summary of war crimes Months-long project in Italy highlights culture and nation From an American Colonel's report A timeline of how the war machine was set in motion More articles in this section The situation is scarier than one can imagine Family in Beirut hoping to move to Armenia And the Pulitzer Prize went to… a lot of Armenians Honored as the best in literature, journalism Azerbaijan’s violence in April War Child killed, soldiers beheaded, bodies tortured | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Putin secures fifth term as Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office through a dubious national plebiscite. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. IDBank unveils three sad stories about fraudsters IDBank has unveiled three scenarios of card fraud that have been happening more and more often in Armenia. |