BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun called on the Lebanese authorities to facilitate the entry of Assyrian Christians fleeing an onslaught by ISIS in northeast Syria, warning that Christians are being systematically uprooted from the region.
“I implore the world’s conscience to help resolve the conflict which is threatening the existence of Christians,” Aoun said.
“We do not want [Christians] to take refuge in Europe or anywhere else... It is a felony to treat in that way the people who have lived in the Levant (for centuries). Today there is a systematic uprooting of Christians from the Orient,” he added.
Aoun, who made the comments after a meeting with a delegation of Christian Maronite archbishops, said a special committee will be set up to provide assistance to the displaced Assyrian families and facilitate their residence in Lebanon.
He urged the Lebanese administration to facilitate entry and residence paperwork, rather than blocking the fleeing families.
“History witnessed many instances of eradication of Christians (in the Levant) and today the tragedy is recurring through displacement,” Aoun added.
In the meantime, 23 Assyrian refugees fleeing the violence in Syria’s province of Hassakeh were waiting at the Masnaa’ crossing on Lebanon’s eastern border, to be given permission to enter the country, security sources told the Daily Star.
The sources said a Lebanese Assyrian cleric has contacted General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, asking for his assistance in facilitating their entry.
Around 220 Assyrians were abducted from their homes when ISIS militants seized 11 villages in the Hassakeh province in northeastern Syria two weeks ago. Thousands more have fled their homes to avoid capture.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 29 of the kidnapped were released, while others are to be tried by ISIS' Sharia court.
No comments:
Post a Comment