A Christian prayer for peace in Syria
updated 8:37 AM EST, Wed December 26, 2012
Activists: Building burns amid air raids
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Gas reports "could be excuses for foreign military intervention"
- A flare-up is reported in a Christian-Druze enclave outside Damascus
- Rebels hold a town in Idlib province, says opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- A mysterious gas kills six people in Homs, a doctor and an opposition group say
"May peace spring up for
the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does
not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims," the pope said in his traditional Christmas message, delivered from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
"Once again, I appeal for
an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and
the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to
the conflict."
Sunni Muslims make up
three-quarters of Syria's 22.5 million people. But Christians, who
represent 10% of the population, have been drawn into the war, which has
largely been fought by the Alawite-dominated government and the largely
Sunni opposition.
Photos: Showdown in Syria
Christmas amid conflict in Syria
Intense violence kills dozens in Syria
Christians have been
historically protected by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and
have been reluctant to take sides. Some Christians in Syria abhor
al-Assad, and others support the government. Many have been apprehensive
about the prospects of an opposition government and fear the influx of
jihadists in rebel ranks.
Jaramana, a town in the
Damascus suburbs with a Christian and Druze population that has mostly
been pro-regime, was the site of violence Monday night.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels ambushed and killed a military intelligence officer there.
The Local Coordination
Committees of Syria, an opposition network, said Tuesday that Free
Syrian Army rebels killed five military intelligence soldiers in clashes
with government forces.
A report issued last
week by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria focused on sectarian
hostilities and referred to dangers faced by Christians. It cited a car
bombing outside a bakery in Jaramana and the kidnapping of Christians in
September.
Before the conflict
started in March 2011, the largest Christian communities were in the
Damascus, Aleppo and Homs regions, it said. But many Christians have
fled their homes because of the violence.
Homs Christians have
escaped to Damascus, and some have made their way to Beirut; Armenians
who had been living in Syria have sought refuge in Armenia.
Syria's Armenian
Orthodox and other Christian communities "have sought protection by
aligning themselves with the government, with the consequence that they
have come under attack from anti-government armed groups," the report
said.
Some Christians have
formed "armed self-defense groups to protect their neighborhoods from
anti-government fighters by establishing checkpoints around these
areas."
More than 40,000 Syrians
have been killed since March 2011, and hundreds of thousands have been
displaced from their homes. At least 171 people were killed Tuesday, the
LCC said. Of those, 61 died in Damascus and its suburbs.
Escaping Syria to marry
The Syrian Observatory
reported that rebel fighters had taken over the town of Harem in Idlib
province. Regime forces and militia allies surrendered; many of them and
pro-government civilians died during clashes, it said.
Tuesday's violence
occurred after two days of air assaults on Syrians who had been waiting
on line for bread. An air assault in Homs province killed at least 15
people Monday, a day after more than 100 were killed at a bakery in Hama
province, opposition activists said.
Both bombings took place
in areas known for anti-government sentiment. The state-run Syrian Arab
News Agency (SANA) blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the Hama
province attack.
Doctor: Mystery gas kills six, injures dozens
A doctor in Homs said
six people have died after exposure to a mysterious gas. Dr. Abu al Fida
said he treated about 30 of the more than 60 people who were affected
by the gas this week.
Those who were close to
the source of the gas suffered symptoms such as paralysis, seizures,
muscle spasms and, in some cases, blindness, he said. Those who were
farther from the source suffered difficulty breathing, disorientation,
hallucinations, nervousness and a lack of limb control similar to
excessive tear gas exposure, he said.
Al Fida said those
affected responded well to atropine, which is used to treat sarin gas
patients, but it was unclear what the substance may have been.
He said the gas appeared as a white flash that went clear.
Opposition activist Rami
Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said
six rebel fighters died after inhaling a white gas that had no smell.
"Gas was released and
spread in the area after members of the regime forces threw canister
bombs," Abdulrahman said. "... The activists said that everyone who
(inhaled) the gas felt severe headaches, and some had seizures."
CNN cannot independently
confirm government or opposition reports from Syria because the
government has severely restricted access by journalists.
State-run SANA quoted
Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor-in-chief of the journal Russia in Global
Affairs, as warning that "allegations of the Syrian government using
chemical weapons could be excuses for foreign military intervention in
Syria."
It added, "In a
statement to journalists on Tuesday, Lukyanov said that the reports on
chemical weapons in Syria could be exploited to undermine the
authorities and motivate foreign forces, stressing that there's no proof
that chemical weapons have been used and that these reports seem to be
another round of the media war against Syria."
U.S. President Barack
Obama has previously warned that any use of chemical weapons by Syria in
its civil war would be crossing a "red line" that would prompt a swift
U.S. response.
Diplomatic front: More talks, but no clear results
On the diplomatic front,
U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Tuesday with members of the
National Opposition Coordination Commission at a hotel in Damascus.
Commission Chairman Hassan Abdel Azim said possible solutions to the
crisis were reviewed with the envoy. The group is seen as a
government-approved opposition group or regime front. It is not
recognized by other opposition groups, such as the LCC or the Free
Syrian Army.
Tuesday's meeting came a day after Brahimi met with al-Assad.
The LCC on Tuesday laid
out its demands for peace talks. It said it would reject any initiative
that would force Syrians "to choose between accepting unfair compromises
or the continuation of the regime's crimes against them." The group
also warned against granting the government "more time to continue to
destroy and kill."
The LCC said that the
president and his officials must leave power in order for any initiative
to work, and that any plan to give the government immunity against
prosecution would be "immediately rejected, as it threatens the chance
for Syrians to succeed in achieving justice."
In Bahrain, the
six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council called for an immediate end to
violence in Syria, and pledged support for the opposition, Kuwaiti
state-run news said.
Members of the group,
such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have supported the Syrian opposition.
The four other Gulf Cooperation Council members are the United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
CNN's Amir Ahmed, Samira Said and Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.
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