Families of Syria's Maaloula meet with FPM leader Aoun in Rabieh

   
A delegation of the families of Maaloula held a meeting on Saturday with Change and Reform Bloc leader MP Michel Aoun at his residence in Rabieh.     

Following the meeting, the delegation stressed that the Syrian Christian town of Maaloula has become unpopulated, adding that "a few number of gunmen are still protecting Maaloula".         
Souhail Saade, the families' spokesperson said "Jabhat al-Nusra has taken control over the hills surrounding Maaloula," namely the hills of Monastery of Mar Sarkis. 
    
Maaloula is a predominantly Christian village located northeast of Damascus, built into the rugged mountainside, at an altitude of more than 1500 meters. It is known as one of three places where Western Aramaic is still spoken, the other two being the nearby villages Jubb Adin and Bakh'a.             

The battle for Maaloula has raised fears among Syrian Christians that the alternative to President Bachar Assad's regime, which is made up mostly of Shiite Alawites, would not tolerate minority religions.                               

Such concerns have helped Assad gain the support of large portions of Syria's minority communities, including Christians, Alawites, Druze and ethnic Kurds.  
                
Most of the rebels and their supporters are Sunni Muslims.              


LBCI/REUTERS