Christian Archbishop Flees Syria

ICC Note:
Jean-Clement Jeanbart, the Catholic archbishop of Aleppo, has fled Syria after his offices were ransacked, Reuters reports. According to Catholic news agency Fides, “unidentified groups” are responsible for attacking many Christians to “feed a religious war and drag the Syrian population into sectarian conflicts.” Most of these “unidentified groups” are fighting with the opposition against the regime. Many Syrian Christians fear that Islamists will take control of the government and persecuted religious minorities if President Bashar al-Assad is deposed.
8/27/2012 Syria (Reuters) – A Christian archbishop fled Syria after his offices were ransacked last week amid fighting between rebels and government forces in the country’s biggest city Aleppo, Catholic news agency Fides said on Monday.
The Melchite Greek Catholic archbishop of Aleppo, Jean-Clement Jeanbart, and a number of priests fled to Lebanon after the attack on Thursday, Fides said.
The Melchite Greek Catholic Church is a community of Middle Eastern Christians who are in full communion with Rome.
Fides said “unidentified groups who want to feed a religious war and drag the Syrian population into sectarian conflicts” attacked the Christian area in the old quarter of Aleppo.
A Byzantine Christian museum and an office of the Maronite Christian faith were also damaged, the report said.
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