Syria rebels moved into the center of the historic Christian town of Maaloula Monday and forcibly evacuated a dozen Syrian and Lebanese Orthodox nuns, according to a Vatican spokesperson.
Vatican Radio, citing the Holy See’s ambassador to Syria, Mario Zenari, said the 12 were apparently taken north in the direction of the town of Yabroud.
“We don’t know the reasons behind this act by the armed opposition. It is a kidnapping, or an act of control over the monastery in order to free their hand in Maaloula,” he said, hinting that he hesitated to label the nuns hostages.
However, pro-opposition sources denied that the nuns had been taken hostage, claiming that rebels from the mainstream Free Syrian Army were trying to protect the women amid intensive shelling by government troops located near the town.
The sources said the rebels were still in the convent with the nuns and that the shelling and sniping by government troops had prevented their attempts to evacuate them.
The rebels advanced on Maaloula after sending explosive-filled tires hurtling down on security forces there, a security source told AFP. The picturesque town is considered a symbol of the ancient Christian presence in Syria, and its 5,000 residents are among the few in the world who speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ.
Nusra was joined by four other, smaller rebel groups in the campaign, according to opposition sources and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syrian state news agency SANA said the rebels had entered the Orthodox Mar Taqla convent, in the middle of the city, which had previously been controlled by the army, albawaba informs.
