A Syrian woman holds a banner for saving Maaloula while Lebanese and Syrian Christian Maronites pray for peace in Syria, in Harisa, Jounieh. (File photo: Reuters)
Islamist fighters in Syria have taken over the ancient quarter of the Christian town of Maaloula and kidnapped a group of nuns from the Greek Orthodox monastery of St Thecla, according to the Vatican nuncio in Damascus.
State news agency SANA reported that the nuns were being held in a monastery in the town which is being fought over by rebel fighters and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces for control of the nearby strategic central Syrian highway.
“Armed men burst in the monastery of Mar Thecla in Maaloula this afternoon. From there, they forcibly took 12 women religious,” Mgr Zenari, the Vatican nuncio in Damascus, said, citing a statement from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. However, he adds that the group of Islamist rebels took the nuns to Yabrud, some 80 kilometers north of the capital.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front had captured the old quarter of Maaloula after several days of fighting, but the Observatory could not independently confirm the nuns were being held captive.
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