REPORT: LBCI crew enters Syrian town of Maaloula

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LBCI crew entered on Tuesday the Syrian town of Maaloula which was recaptured yesterday by the Syrian army closing off supply routes from Lebanon and securing the main highway leading north from Damascus toward central Syria, Homs and the Mediterranean.

This as sporadic clashes are still taking place in the town between the Hezbollah-backed Syrian army and the remaining pockets of gunmen.

The Syrian army is also combing buildings and streets following fierce battles reported ahead of the town’s capture.

Three Lebanese journalists working for Hezbollah's al-Manar television were killed on Monday after coming under attack in the historic Christian town of Maaloula, north of Damascus.

Al-Manar said two other members of the team were wounded but were in a stable condition.

In a statement, it accused "terrorists" of killing reporter Hamza Haj Hassan, cameraman Mohamad Mantash and technician Halim Allaw who were in Maaloula to cover fighting between government forces, backed by Hezbollah fighters, and insurgents, mostly jihadis who took over the town in December.

"(The team) was killed after coming under attack carried out by ... terrorists on the outskirts of Maaloula during their coverage of the Syrian army seizing the town of Maaloula," it said.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman condemned the attack, saying on his twitter account: "Assassinating journalists is a cowardly act".

The television channel aired footage of a bullet-riddled car in which it said its crew was traveling when they came under attack.

The killing came shortly after Syrian army recaptured Maaloula.

Islamist fighters, some from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, had taken over part of the ancient Christian town in December and held several nuns captive until releasing them in March in a prisoner-exchange deal.

At another ancient Christian site, Mar Sarkis - a Greek Orthodox monastery dating back to the fourth century and located on a hilltop above Maaloula - a Reuters witness saw crosses and pictures of saints smashed and covered with dust on the floor.

"God willing, the army will be able to free all of the Qalamoun area within days," a Syrian army officer in Maaloula told Reuters.

Maaloula's churches and monasteries attracted both Christian and Muslim pilgrims before the conflict. Some of its inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language of Christ, and the monastery of Mar Thecla has a reputation among believers for miraculous cures.

Syria's Christian community, about 10 percent of the population, is wary of the rising power of Islamist groups within the rebel movement.

Only a small percentage of Christians have taken up arms in the civil war that broadly pits minorities, in particular Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, against the Sunni Muslim majority.

LBCI/REUTERS

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