Christians attend mass Wednesday instead of New Year's Eve due to security fears

Syrian Christians attended mass in Damascus on Wednesday after staying away on New Year's Eve because of security concerns.

The Christian suburb of al-Qassaa has been repeatedly struck by mortar shells during the violence that has engulfed Syria since March 2011.

Also Wednesday, state media and activists reported heavy clashes in the Damascus suburb of Adra, part of which was stormed by rebels last month.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said opposition fighters battled with troops from Assad's army as well as pro-government forces known as the National Defense Forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah.

More than 130,000 people have been killed so far in the war, now in its third year, according to the Observatory.

The group closely monitors the violence in Syria through a network of activists across the country.

The UN said in July that 100,000 Syrians have been killed, and has not updated that figure since. One third of Syria's entire pre-war population of 23 million people has been displaced because of the fighting.  


AP