LF leader Geagea: Christians in Middle East do not need the protection of Dictators

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Friday that the current developments in Syria's Maaloula, are similar to those that took place in Aleppo, Homs and Daraa.

Geagea's comments were made during a conference on the role of Christians in Lebanon and the Orient, in which he said that some leaders are attempting to depict the Syrian conflict as one that threatens Christian communities.

He also noted that that the Syrian conflict is currently overruled with chaos, adding that it will however, "eventually reach democracy."

Geagea stressed that Christians in the Middle East are an integral part of the community, adding that they should remain in the region. He also stressed the need for Christians to distance themselves from dictators, stating that they do not their protection, he said in reference to the Syrian president Bachar Assad's regime.

Last week, Pope Francis called for prayers for 12 Orthodox nuns reportedly taken by force from their convent in Syria's Maaloula by rebels.

Religious officials in the region have said the women were abducted, but a Syrian opposition activist said they were merely removed for their own safety.

The 12 nuns join two bishops and a priest who are already believed to be held by hard-line rebels, deepening concerns that extremists in the opposition's ranks are targeting Christians.

Syria's minorities, including Christians, have largely sided with President Bashar Assad's government or have tried to stay on the sidelines of the country's civil war, fearing for their fate if the rebels, increasingly dominated by Islamic extremists, come to power.