L’orrore ha un nome: Adra
di Mario Villani – fonte Ora Pro Siria
Adra è una città di oltre cinquantamila abitanti del Rif damasceno, situata ad una ventina di chilometri a nord di Damasco, non lontano dal massiccio montuoso chiamato Qalamoun che fa parte della catena dell’Antilibano. Fino allo scorso mese di dicembre questa città, caratterizzata dal suo multiconfessionalismo, era stata relativamente risparmiata dagli orrori della guerra che, da ormai tre anni, sta devastando la Siria, tanto da essere divenuta rifugio di numerosi profughi a favore dei quali è stato realizzato un vasto programma di edilizia popolare.
Nella notte tra il 10 e l’11 dicembre 2013 in questa cittadina è iniziata una tragedia che costituisce una delle pagine più orrende non solo della guerra in Siria, ma di tutta la storia moderna. Bisogna premettere che in quei giorni era in corso nel vicino massiccio del Qalamoun un’offensiva dell’esercito regolare siriano che, dopo aver liberato dalla bande islamiste le città di Qara e Nabek, si accingeva a dare l’assalto a Yabroud, roccaforte delle organizzazioni salafite che vi hanno addirittura creato un effimero emirato. La caduta di Yabroud sarebbe stato un colpo durissimo per il fronte dei rivoltosi, già provati da una serie di sconfitte e da una sanguinosa lotta intestina che vede combattersi tra di loro le varie anime dell’estremismo islamista.
“Qualcuno”, fuori dalla Siria, ha così pensato di creare un diversivo per costringere l’esercito siriano a sottrarre forze dal fronte del Qalamoun ed a impiegarle altrove. E’ stata scelta la città di Adra, poco difesa e non lontana, come si è detto, dalle zone “calde” intorno a Yabroud. All’interno del centro abitato vi erano già diverse cellule “dormienti” di guerriglieri, pare complessivamente poco meno di un migliaio di combattenti, entrati mescolandosi alle colonne di profughi in arrivo da ogni angolo della Siria. Altri due/tremila guerriglieri appartenenti al famigerato Fronte Al Nusra, sono stati fatti affluire da altre aree del Paese, qualcuno addirittura dall’Iraq, e schierati intorno ad Adra.
Alle quattro del mattino è iniziato l’assalto. I guerriglieri già presenti all’interno della città hanno attaccato la stazione di polizia, difesa da poche decine di agenti, che sono stati tutti uccisi e poi mutilati e bruciati. Le bande all’esterno della cinta urbana hanno rapidamente travolto i pochi e sguarniti posti di blocco dell’esercito e si sono riversati nelle vie cittadine, sparando contro le case e gridando “siamo venuti a uccidervi nassiriti (ovvero alauiti)”.
hanno attaccato la stazione di polizia, difesa da poche decine di agenti, che sono stati tutti uccisi e poi mutilati e bruciati
Ovunque nella città sono state innalzate le bandiere nere di Al Nusra e dell’ISIL, l’Esercito Islamico del Levante ed è iniziato il massacro, rivissuto nelle testimonianze delle persone che sono riuscite a fuggire ed a raggiungere le postazioni dell’esercito regolare.La prima vittima, dopo i poliziotti, è stato un infermiere della clinica pubblica. Accusato di essere un “collaborazionista”, in quanto dipendente statale, è stato decapitato e la sua testa è stata appesa ad un albero nella piazza del mercato. Successivamente i guerriglieri hanno occupato il forno principale della città e qui sono avvenuti episodi efferati: tutti i nove dipendenti sono stati decapitati e le loro teste sono andate a tenere compagnia a quella dell’infermiere nella piazza del mercato. Quindi i terroristi di al Nusra hanno usato il forno per le loro esecuzioni. Un numero imprecisato di persone, tra cui alcuni bambini, vi sono stati infatti bruciati vivi (2).
i terroristi di al Nusra hanno usato il forno per le loro esecuzioni. Un numero imprecisato di persone, tra cui alcuni bambini, vi sono stati infatti bruciati vivi
In altre aree della città elementi armati sono passati di casa in casa rastrellando persone sulla base di liste di proscrizione di cui, come riferisce Russia Today (che ha ascoltato molti testimoni oculari della carneficina) erano in possesso. Dipendenti pubblici e membri delle comunità alauita, cristiana e drusa le principali vittime. A centinaia sono stati ammassati e uccisi, i più fortunati con raffiche di mitragliatrice, altri torturati, mutilati e decapitati, altri ancora, come già detto, condotti al forno e bruciati vivi. Tra le tante storie tragiche merita di essere riferita quella dell’ingegnere Al Hassan. Sentendo i guerriglieri che salivano le scale per venirlo a prendere e ben sapendo quale sorte attendeva lui, la moglie e i due giovanissimi figli, ha atteso che i terroristi del Fronte Al Nusra sfondassero la porta di casa e poi ha azionato quattro ordigni esplosivi di cui era in possesso. Nessuno si è salvato.
Il massacro è continuato ininterrotto per due giorni, poi i reparti dell’esercito siriano accorsi dal vicino Qalamoun sono riusciti a penetrare nella città ed a porre in salvo almeno cinquemila persone minacciate dai terroristi. Altre centinaia di persone mancano però all’appello. Molte sicuramente sono morte ed i loro corpi non sono ancora stati ritrovati, ma altre sono ancora nelle mani dei guerriglieri di Al Nusra che li usano come scudi umani per ostacolare le operazioni dell’esercito che cerca di riportare la sicurezza nella città. Ancora oggi, infatti, molti quartieri sono rimasti sotto il controllo dei guerriglieri e le operazioni militari procedono con estrema lentezza proprio per cercare di minimizzare le perdite tra i civili.
L’attacco ad Adra dimostra che chi soffia sul fuoco della guerra in Siria non è disposto ad abbandonare la partita. L’Arabia Saudita, perchè è da lì che viene il terrore, continua ad inviare combattenti in Siria, ma non solo, perchè anche gli scontri che sconvolgono la provincia irachena di Anbar e gli attentati in Libano e Russia sembrano avere il medesimo ispiratore ed organizzatore. Evidentemente la dinastia Saud sembra aver deciso: il Medio Oriente ed il Caucaso siano wahabiti (una corrente della galassia salafita a cui appartiene la famiglia reale saudita) oppure brucino in una devastante guerra confessionale. Questo continuo afflusso in Siria di uomini (ben forniti di armi e stupefacenti) unitamente ad alcune lacune dell’esercito regolare siriano (determinato, ma concepito per combattere contro un esercito regolare e non per fronteggiare gruppi guerriglieri) rischiano di portare ad una guerra senza fine, una guerra dove gli episodi di efferata crudeltà sono destinati a moltiplicarsi all’infinito.
L’orrenda carneficina di Adra, infatti, è solo l’episodio più spaventoso di una lunga serie di violenze operate dai gruppi islamisti che combattono il Governo siriano, violenze che negli ultimi mesi sembrano aver preso sempre più di mira le minoranze cristiane e quella alauita. Nel villaggio di Saddad sono stati uccisi e mutilati ottanta cristiani, le suore rapite a Maaloula non sono più state liberate, colpi di mortaio cadono quotidianamente davanti alle scuole ed alle chiese uccidendo, ferendo e mutilando… Di fronte a questa inumana violenza che va al di là della inevitabile durezza che accompagna ogni guerra si impone almeno una riflessione.
Non preoccupatevi se non avete visto questa notizia sui media. E’ solo il segno di quanto siano attendibili e completi nell’informazione.
Quei guerriglieri che torturano, mutilano, rapiscono e uccidono ci sono stati presentati per anni come i difensori della democrazia contro un regime sanguinario e tirannico.Addirittura siamo stati sul punto, nello scorso mese di agosto, di scendere in guerra al loro fianco, fermati solo da un voto del Parlamento britannico e dall’atteggiamento durissimo della Russia. Ora molti cominciano a capire che favorire la loro vittoria vorrebbe dire trasformare l’intera Siria in un grande campo di tortura e di morte. Qualcuno riesce ad immaginare cosa succederebbe ad esempio se Damasco cadesse nelle mani dei salafiti? Cosa ne sarebbe delle decine di migliaia di Cristiani, Alauiti e Drusi che vi abitano? Cosa avverrebbe delle migliaia di dipendenti pubblici, visto che la sola carica di infermiere o portalettere conduce alla decapitazione?
E’ doveroso quindi porre oggi con chiarezza una domanda: i responsabili della politica internazionale (da Obama alla Clinton, da Hollande a Cameron, da Erdogan a Terzi di Santagata) conoscevano o no la natura fanatica e sanguinaria delle bande islamiste che fin dall’inizio sono state la componente più significativa della rivolta in Siria? Se la risposta è affermativa molte persone in occidente devono prendere atto di essere governate da soggetti di un tale disgustoso cinismo da accettare, pur di conseguire loro non ben decifrati obbiettivi, di consegnare un popolo intero nelle mani di sanguinari assassini come i cannibali di Al Nusra e alleati. Se la risposta è negativa le medesime persone devono prendere atto di essere governate da babbei. Non so quale prospettiva sia più inquietante.
1) Non preoccupatevi se non avete visto questa notizia sui media. E’ solo il segno di quanto siano attendibili e completi nell’informazione.
2) Una televisione russa ha trasmesso le immagini orrende dei loro corpicini semi carbonizzati. Sono stato a lungo tentato di mettere in testa all’articolo una di queste fotografie. Ho deciso di non farlo, non per un riguardo allo stomaco dei nostri lettori -che anzi è bene vedano cosa si intende quando si parla di orrore-, ma per una forma di rispetto verso quelle creature. fonte: Ora Pro Siria
leggi anche su massacro di Adra: http://www.sibialiria.org/wordpress/?p=2087
Related posts:
- In nessun periodo della storia, il cittadino è stato più spogliato di potere reale come nella democrazia moderna. E, tuttavia, ogni cosa accade come se egli fosse re.
- una delle più grandi riserve d’oro al mondo e la maggioranza della gente non losa
- Nel 2009 in Iraq costruivano alloggi per i profughi della guerra siriana. C’è solo un particolare: nel 2009 non c’era guerra di Siria
- SIRIA: UNA STORIA GIA’ VISTA
Aleppo Devastated
Letter from Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart Melkite Archbishop of Aleppo.
Translated from French from the website of the French Catholic NGO L’Œuvre d’Orient
Dear friend,
I don’t know if the city of Aleppo has or has not been declared a “Disaster city” by international bodies! What I can say myself is that it is indeed a disaster. A humanitarian, material and economic disaster!
The residents of this great seven thousand year old metropolis are found after three years of senseless war, in a disastrous situation. The prosperity that distinguished Aleppo to place it among the most cities prominent in the region has lost all its brilliance. The incalculable damage that destroyed factories and thriving industry, its infrastructure, social and administrative institutions, commerce and its legendary souks, its ancient houses, schools and hospitals have been reduced to poverty and depleted the population in a worrying and dramatic way.
Can we now talk about all the annoyances that make the Aleppins suffer these days due to the unprecedented siege that the rebels have imposed for almost two months? The lack of supplies has created a shortage of food and a large number of necessities…
In a Word, our population suffers and innocently suffers the after-effects of an unjust and devastating war.
A before and after view of St. Gevorg’s (George) Armenian Orthodox Church in Aleppo which was petrol bombed by FSA (“Free” Syrian Army) rebel terrorists last October 2012. The church library was also destroyed in the attack. Click to enlarge.
Am I allowed to speak of our Archdiocese which has been these last months the target of projectiles of all kinds which have damaged our buildings and that put us, my clergy and myself in great danger. I lament then a great misfortune which has hit a good number of the inhabitants of this city we all love. On several occasions our apartments have suffered extensive damage, but I consider it insignificant, seeing what the city has endured… May the Lord have mercy on us and allow peace to be established in the country.
Jack Salloum who was killed by shrapnel when two mortar rockets, fired by rebels, fell close to where he and other boys were waiting for a bus to collect them and bring them to catechism lessons. Several children were injured.
Is this a good way to contact friends on the occasion of the festivities of Christmas and new year? Who other than you, my beloved, I entrust my concerns and tell my suffering in these days which leads the world each year to joy and comfort but unfortunately give suffering and bitterness. Christmas for the faithful of Aleppo, brings hope and consolation with the coming of the newborn Savior, it remained still a feast that we celebrate with joy and one that softens our bitterness. I would like on this occasion to say to all those who believe in us, continue to support us and to pray with us and to stop this destructive scourge, which reminds us of the great barbarian invasions of the middle ages and that the greed of the big nations will be settled. This will allow, without any doubt, the poor Syrians to find tranquility and serenity necessary for dialogue, which alone is capable of carrying out a most needed agreement and national reconciliation!
I wish, dear friend, to tell you here that I love you with all my heart, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a good new year, without forgetting to thank you for your kindness and for the generosity with which you kindly help us. With my gratitude and my deep gratitude, please accept the expression of my best feelings. Original in French here
+ J- C.JEANBART
Aleppo: public flogging for failure to observe Friday prayers
Member of the Islamist Ahrar ash-Sham publically lash two men in Aleppo, the punishment for those who trade (buy or sell) in the city while Friday Prayers are in progress. Ahrar ash-Sham is a part of the Islamic Front grouping of rebels, which was formed in November 2013 and is defacto lead by Saudi Arabia. Western media attempts to portray these militants as “more moderate” because they are not directly connected with Al Qaeda although they share the same ideology. The Islamic Front is a merger of seven rebel groups announced on 22 November 2013. Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami means “Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant” and is itself a collection of Islamist and Salafist -Takfiri armed groups whose units combined to form one brigade.
04
Jan
Lebanon Loses 78000 Books To Terrorism: Tripoli’s “Al Sa’eh” Library Burned
A decades-old library owned by an Antiochian Orthodox priest, Father Ibrahim Surouj, in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli was torched late Friday.
Note: Lebanon’s northern City of Tripoli has been polarised as a result of the Syrian Conflict. The city has long become a centre for radical Salafi Islamist activity and many takfiri fighters from the city have gone to fight with the opposition in Syria.
2014 is off to a horrible start in Lebanon. The explosion that took place in Beirut yesterday, in the year’s first few days, has been paralleled by another act of terrorism in Lebanon’s northern capital, where extremist gunmen torched the city’s biggest library, Lebanon’s second, burning it to the ground.
They accused the priest running the library, a man who has been fighting to keep that place alive against contractors who worked to dismantle the building in which it resided, of publishing an article that offends Islam. I guess offenses are in the eye of the beholder. In this case, the eyes are for illiterate people who can’t read and who don’t know the value of a book.
The country is burning, let’s not worry about a library. A lot of people might say that. But the library in question was a true national treasure, containing 78000 books, many of which exist in very few copies and many of which are, ironically, books about Islam. I’m also sure the library contained Qurans. Father Ibrahim Sarrouj, the library’s curator, has lived in Tripoli all his life and is known to being an encompassing person of the city’s diversity.
Father Ibrahim Surouj and his library
Tripoli cannot sit out the ongoing tragedies blowing through Lebanon lately. We just lost 78,000 books. We have lost many innocent lives as well over the past few days. And for the sake of what? Wars that we have nothing to do with, being fought over our territory, by people who have gone through a few cycles of brain washing in order to get them to believe that killing innocent people whose lives are well ahead of them or burning down a library will bring them favors with their own version of god and prophet.
Then you have those who believe that the actions of those gunmen reflect what the people of Tripoli believe in and who proclaim things as such to the ears that would listen. The fact of the matter is, however, is that the people of Tripoli are more afraid of those gunmen than we are. They are more afraid of the havoc they are bringing to their city than we are. They are more worried about the repercussions of their actions on the fabrics of their society than we give them credit for. They are wary of how their city has changed in such few days. They are terrified of the cultural demise that their home city is witnessing. They care about these books, the library and the priest who ran it. They are people who are worthy of having such a library to their name. They are the people whose city just lost its biggest library and who are gathering around its remnants crying their eyes out at how things turned out for the place they call home: a pile of rubble of a place that was once great.
I’m not Muslim but I’m more Muslim than the lunatics who torched that library and so are most of the people of Tripoli that many Lebanese love to dismiss so easily.
Tonight, I have been robbed of being able to visit such a place again and again by men who know no religion, no god and no alphabet.
Antiochian Orthodox Archbishop Efram Kyriakos said if the criminals are not arrested similar attacks will take place against Christians in the region.
A page on Facebook “The lions of Sunni’s in Tripoli” claimed that they burned down a house of infidals. The library was one of the oldest and historical libraries in Lebanon.
Tonight, the entire country was robbed of a wealth of knowledge that we had probably taken for granted. Who ever thought a library would be targeted in a terrorist attack?
Tonight, I’m livid and you should be. It’s not just about books. It’s about living in a place where two explosions taking place within a week, followed by such an act, are now considered normal. It’s about living in a place where you’re expected to move on from everything like it was nothing because that’s the only way forward. It’s about living in a place where you’re forced to forget about the lives lost, the books burned and the cities ruined just because it’s what we do.
Tonight, my thoughts go to Tripoli, the city that I miss and to its people that I hold dear. May they rebuild the library, restock its shelves with what they can and get rid of their streets of the infestation springing out and about. I try to be optimistic because that’s the only thing I can try to do. Tonight has been a sad night indeed. Original here
No one intervened to stop it
From the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar: “Sources told Al-Akhbar that Salafi young men in the library’s neighborhood spread a rumor about finding a book insulting Prophet Mohammad that Sarrouj was intending to reprint. Unknown assailants later shot an employee working for Sarrouj in the foot. Then, during the night, the library was set on fire, and no one intervened to stop it”. Read the full article here
People of Tripoli donating books to the library which was burnt by the radicals.
Photo via Yeghig Tashjian, Facebook group The New Eastern Politics
Tripoli’s Scouts launch a campaign to help replace the lost books
The CJC group “Les Scouts du Liban- Groupe CJC Tripoli” based is St. Maron Church- Tripoli, is launching a campaign to collect books and donate them to Père Sarrouj, the owner of the library, so that this historical library opens again as soon as possible.
For Some Syrian Christian Refugees, Christmas a Sorrowful Time
Article by Dale Gavlak from the Catholic Near East Welfare Association
AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — Some Syrian Christian refugees taking shelter in neighboring Jordan did not have a happy Christmas, fearful for their uncertain future as the violent conflict in their homeland grinds on past 33 months with no end in sight.
“Just see how Christians in Iraq were targeted on our sacred holiday, Christmas Day, in Baghdad,” said Abu Reda, referring to bomb blasts that left at least 37 dead.
The 30-year-old Catholic entrepreneur once ran a successful beverage business in a suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, but now collects plastic containers from the streets to sell just to feed his family in exile.
He and his family of four huddled in front of a TV that broadcast Christmas programs over a Christian satellite channel in a cold, sparsely furnished apartment in the Jordanian capital. He used a familial name, rather than his given name, to protect relatives still in Syria.
A pair of calendars for the coming year with pictures of Jesus and the Holy Family adorned the otherwise bare living room walls. There was no Christmas tree in sight.
“Christians are being targeted in Syria. I was one and that’s why we fled here,” said Abu Reda. Islamist extremists’ repeated threats of kidnapping and death forced Abu Reda and his family to flee about a year ago. The final straw was the killing of a cousin by extremists and the destruction of a family home. Fighters from the Nusra Front, an Islamist militant group linked to the al Qaeda network, began putting messages on his shop’s door and later on his home. “Selling alcohol is forbidden,” the messages read. “We consider your money to be ours and we’ll turn your wife and children into our slaves.” Shortly afterward, Islamist rebels kidnapped his father and held him for 15 days until the area where he was being held was overtaken by the Syrian government military, which released him. Later, a cousin was kidnapped. The family was given too short a time to collect the ransom money, he said, and the man was killed.
Although Abu Reda discovered that at least two men threatening him were former employees, reports to the Syrian government security services did nothing to stop the threats. “The men warned me, ‘We will follow you wherever you go in Syria,’ “ he said. “We knew we had to leave because of the lack of central control and chaos now reigning in the country,” he added. Abu Reda’s wife sobbed as she recalled the events. “We are far away from our family at this Christmas. It is difficult. We want Christians to return to Syria as well as peace to come again to our homeland,” she said.
Unlike in other Middle Eastern countries, in Jordan, Christians from Western and Eastern traditions tend to celebrate Christmas together on 25 December, according to the Gregorian calendar. Likewise, Jordanian Christians from both traditions celebrate Easter together, according to Julian calendar.
“It’s my hope and that of other Syrian Christians in exile to be allowed to settle in the West, at least for the sake of our children’s future.
Abu Reda said he was grateful to the international Catholic charity Caritas and several Jordanian priests for practical help, including a space heater and other household basics. He praised the Franciscan Sisters for educational assistance to his 8-year-old daughter, Angie, and for providing his family with some basic furniture and a rug to help ward off the bitter winter cold in the apartment.
“My daughter refused to go to a Jordanian public school after they tried to make her wear the hijab,” he said, referring to the headscarf worn by women in the Islamic tradition. “I appealed to our priest and now she attends a Roman Catholic school in Amman and is much happier. “As with other Syrians, I am used to working hard for a living. My money is running out. I am not permitted to work legally in Jordan,” Abu Reda said. “It’s my hope and that of other Syrian Christians in exile to be allowed to settle in the West, at least for the sake of our children’s future. “Still as Christians, our hope is always in Jesus Christ, whom we trust will give us the strength to get through these very tough times,” he said. Original here
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