Syria Archbishop Calls on West to Back President Bashar al-Assad in War against Islamist Rebels

THE TELEGRAPH: Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart, based in Aleppo, says West should follow Russia in backing Assad regime rather than Islamist-dominated rebel groups

A leading Christian bishop in Syria has welcomed Russia's intervention in the country's civil war, saying the West should follow Vladimir Putin in backing President Bashar al-Assad rather than rebel groups dominated by Islamic extremists.

Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart, who is based in the war-ravaged northern city of Aleppo, said Mr Putin's involvement had brought "hope" to many of Syria's Christian minority, who thought it might force the warring sides to the negotiating table.

In an interview with The Telegraph during a visit to London, he also urged Britain and America to re-examine their assessment of President Assad, who he claimed was not the "Devil" that they made him out to be.

Archbishop Jeanbart said: "I have been asking fellow bishops, priests and lay people about what they think of the Russian involvement, and they say they find some hope in it because they are desperate for the end of this war.

"As long as Europe and the USA have been involved, we have no seen no results despite the coalition bombing, but with the Russian intervention maybe things will change.

"Perhaps it will help destroy Daesh and push the opposition to find a solution," he added, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The bishop made his comments ahead of a visit to the House of Lords on Tuesday afternoon, where he was due to make a speech at event to mark the launch of a new report on the persecution of Christians worldwide. » | Colin Freeman | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Syria: 'I Saw Rebels Execute My Boy for No More Than a Joke’

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nadia Umm Fuad watched her son being shot by Islamist rebels in Syria after the 14-year-old referred to the Prophet Mohammed as he joked with a customer at his coffee stall in Aleppo. She speaks to Richard Spencer.

Mohammed Katta's mother witnessed the execution of her son in three stages.

She was upstairs at home when she first heard the shouting. The people of the neighbourhood were yelling that "they have brought back the kid", so she rushed out of her apartment.

"I went out on my balcony," Nadia Umm Fuad said. "I said to his father, they are going to shoot your son! Come! Come! Come! I was on the stairs when I heard the first shot. I was at the door when I heard the second shot.

"I saw the third shot. I was shouting, 'That's haram, forbidden! Stop! Stop! You are killing a child.' But they just gave me a dirty look and got into their car. As they went, they drove over my son's arm, as he lay there dying."

Mohammed was 14 when he was killed, earlier this month, prompting international condemnation. He has become a symbol of the fears many Syrians have for the future of a country where jihadists are vying with the regime for control. » | Richard Spencer, Aleppo | Friday, June 21, 2013

Syria: How Extremists Jabhat al-Nusra Are Taking Over Aleppo
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Aleppo has been plunged into despair. Riven with war, life in Syria's most populous city has become a dog-eat-dog existence: a battle for survival in a place where the strong devour the weak.

Its luxuriant history is lost beneath uncollected litter on its pavements and streets. Feral children play beside buildings shattered by shelling and air strikes. There is no electricity, no heating; gunmen prowl the streets as night falls. Some are rebels searching for government loyalists; others are criminals looking to kidnap for ransom. Looting is rife.

It is here, behind the front lines of the war against Bashar al-Assad that a new struggle is emerging. It is a clash of ideologies: a competition where rebel brigades vie to determine the shape of post-Assad Syria.

And in recent weeks it is Jabhat al-Nusra, a radical jihadist group blacklisted by the US as terrorists and a group that wants Syria to be an uncompromising Islamic state governed by sharia, that is holding sway.

The group is well funded – probably through established global jihadist networks – in comparison to moderates. Meanwhile pro-democracy rebel group commanders say money from foreign governments has all but dried up because of fears over radical Islamists.

The effect is changing the face of the Syrian revolution. » | Ruth Sherlock, Aleppo | Friday, February 08, 2013

Augenschein in Aleppo: Die Vergangenheit der Zukunft opfern

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Aleppos Zentrum galt als das schönste unter den syrischen Altstädten und ist nun Schauplatz des Bürgerkrieges. Ein schnelles Ende der Kämpfe zeichnet sich nicht ab, und bereits nach wenigen Monaten sind viele einmalige Kulturschätze verloren. – Ein Augenschein vor Ort.

Seit dem 8. August 2012 verliert Aleppo jeden Tag ein Stück seiner Identität, seiner Geschichte, seines Charakters. An jenem Mittwoch begannen syrische Regierungstruppen ihren Sturm auf die Millionenstadt und zwangen die zahlreichen Rebellenverbände, sich aus dem Viertel Salaheddine in die engen Gassen der Altstadt zurückzuziehen, in die ihnen keine Panzer folgen konnten. Seitdem starben hier zahllose Kämpfer wie auch Zivilisten, ohne dass eine der beiden Seiten einen entscheidenden militärischen Sieg erringen konnte. Stattdessen graben sie sich immer tiefer in das Gewirr mamlukischer und osmanischer Herrenhäuser, Souks und Moscheen ein und beschiessen sich aus grosser Entfernung mit Granaten und aus Scharfschützengewehren. » | Nils Metzger | Mottwoch, 14. November 2012

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Kulturerbe in Gefahr – Spiegel von Syriens multikultureller Geschichte: Durch die Versuche der syrischen Armee, Aufständische aus Aleppo zu vertreiben, sind die einzigartigen Kulturschätze der Stadt bedroht. Dabei hatte Aleppo gerade erst begonnen, sich für das eigene historische Erbe zu interessieren. » | Claudia Mende | Donnerstag, 09. August 2012

24 Hours in the Chaos of Aleppo

Syria: The Gap Salesman Turned Rebel Executioner
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Yaman Hamoud, 22, divided his time between university and working in a Gap store in Dubai, before becoming an executioner for the FSA

The journey from Gap store shop assistant to rebel executioner was short.

Six months ago, Yaman Hamoud was selling fashion, under the watchful eye of a British shop manager. By August, back home in Aleppo, the 22-year-old was part of a Free Syrian Army squad that arrested a member of the Shabiha, the hated Assad militia.

After a few hours of to-and-fro with his commander, the squad was given permission to do what they wanted with him. “We took him to the graveyard, where there was a hole in the ground,” he said, laughing. His confession was entirely unprompted. “We shot him. He fell.”

He had no remorse, but admitted he had thought about his mother. “She rings me all the time to tell me to try to avoid killing people,” he said. “She says, 'It’s haram [forbidden (by God)], please don’t if you can help it’. But we have to do this. He was Shabiha. They have killed so many people.” » | Richard Spencer, Aleppo | Wednesday, August 15, 2012