Russian Official Urges Defense of Christians in Syria in Wake of Chemical Attack

22/8/13

Vladimir Bulygin, head of the Constitutional Legislation Committee of  Russia’s Federation Council, has called on the Russian government to defend  Syrian Christians and to seek the help of the international community.

The calls come as reports are emerging from Syria that more than 1,000 people  may have been killed in the largest attack in the two-year conflict.

“Syria’s Christians are in serious danger, as the world ignored crimes  committed against them. Russia should speak, publicly, about this disaster in  the international fora to draw the world’s attention to their suffering in  Syria,” Bulygin said during an interview with Novosti News Agency.

“The accordance between Muslims and Christians continued for centuries, but  was recently undermined.”

In recent reports, armed individuals killed 11 people, most of whom were  Christian, in the Syrian governorate of Homs. Media channels also reported on  the burning of the Syriac church in Deir al-Zour, in June, by armed members of  the Al-Nusra Front.

The church was not the only target for the radical group, as they also  targeted the Latin Church, which faced two consecutive bombings by Salafist and  takfiri groups.

Churches in Syria adopted a neutral position in the current conflict and  provided support for all evicted and displaced people on the basis of  humanitarian ethics.

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