Patriarch Laham condemns ISIS atrocities against civilians in Hasaka

Beirut, SANA – Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Patriarch Gregorios III Laham condemned the brutal crimes committed by terrorists against innocent civilians in the countryside of the northeastern Hasaka province.

On Monday, terrorists of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) began a large-scale armed assault against the villages of Tal Hermez, Tal Shamiram, Tal Rumman, Tal Nasri, al-Aghibash, Touma Yelda, and al-Hawouz in Hasaka’s western countryside.

ISIS terrorists committed acts of atrocities, including killing, vandalism, armed robbery and destruction of scores of houses and churches, claiming tens of lives, driving hundreds of people out of their homes and leaving scores of houses and churches, including the antique church of Tal Hermez, one of the oldest churches in Syria, burned to the ground.

Furthermore, ISIS terrorists captured on Tuesday 56 people from the villages of Tal Hermez and Tal Shamiram and held them captive.

Patriarch Laham said in a statement that the blood of those innocent people shakes the conscience of the world, wondering “Does the world need any further evidence to take a real unified stand against this scourge.”

“We are praying for our brothers and sisters, and we stress our solidarity with them,” he added.

Rasha Milhem/Haifa Said

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