Christians In Syria's Aleppo Prepare For Islamic State Invasion
Christian residents in the Syrian city of Aleppo have reportedly sworn to hold their ground, instead of fleeing, despite the threat of an Islamic State invasion.
A recent report by the AFP states that although tens of thousands of Christians have fled Aleppo ahead of a possible Islamic State invasion, others have sworn to stand their ground, and continue to attend churches, like the Orthodox Church of Mar Elis.
"A lot of members of our community have left because they lost their jobs and because of terror of [the Islamic State]," Georges Bakhache, a public relations officer for the city's Christian population, told the AFP.
"The jihadists are not in town but they're not far," he said.
"Christians panicked when they saw what happened to the Christians of Mosul," Bakhache added.
Syria's city of Mosul was seized by the Islamic State back in June, where thousands of Christians fled and several cultural and Christian religious sites were destroyed by the terrorist organization.
Recently, the United Nations proposed a truce between anti-government militant fighters in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, and government forces. The truce deal would have stopped fighting in certain areas of the city where residents in rebel districts are in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Despite the proposed truce deal, local residents have expressed skepticism regarding peace and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
"We cannot trust any initiative," Safi al-Masri, a 25-year-old Aleppo resident, told Reuters. "We consider this initiative far from humanitarian after all the Syrian blood that's been spilled."
