Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.
After several days of heavy assault fighting, Syrian government troops and local militia have retaken the town of Al-Qaryatayn from Islamic State. As RT’s Lizzie Phelan traveled there, she found a devastated place.
Al-Qaryatayn had been held by terrorist groups since late August. The liberation of the city proclaimed April 3 came days after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) was pushed out of the ancient city of Palmyra, 100km (60 miles) to the east.
The army expects Al-Qaryatayn to serve as a springboard for further advances against IS strongholds in eastern Syria.
“Al-Qaryatayn is at a junction that connects the Iraqi border with Palmyra and from Palmyra through to Damascus,” Ahmad Albuhamad, first lieutenant in the Tribesmen regiment, an ally of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), explained to RT.
Al-Qaryatayn map before its liberation
With the ancient city of Palmyra now retaken, pro-government forces are pressing ahead with their campaign to cut off IS supply routes through the oil and gas-rich desert around the city, Phelan reports.
Al-Qaryatayn looks totally deserted – no sign of the hundreds who IS reportedly kidnapped there.
A fighter from a local tribe said the citizens were moved out long ago – to Raqqa, the de facto IS capital, where the terrorist group is most heavily entrenched.
“Most information shows that the kidnapped Christians from Al-Qaryatayn were taken to an ISIS prison under the Batath Dam [22km upstream from the city of Raqqa]. They put them under the dam to avoid being targeted by Russian and Syrian aircraft,” Ahmad Albuhamad said.
Al-Qaryatayn used to have a large Christian population. Now the signs of IS persecution are quite visible.
The jihadists apparently used a bulldozer to partially destroy St Elias Monastery, which dates back more than 1,500 years. Human bones from ancient graves are strewed amidst the rubble.
Inside the monastery there is an Assyrian church and all Christian symbols in it have been destroyed. In the church graveyard, the gravestones have been trashed and all the crosses removed.
Thankfully, the monastery’s beautiful old church is still standing, but has been severely desecrated. After an apparent attempt to set the building on fire from inside, the old beams look burnt and the floor is covered with burnt pages with texts in Assyrian from Christian holy books.
RT’s crew reports many Assyrian churches in the area have been either demolished or badly damaged.
There is not one building left in Al-Qaryatayn that has escaped damage from the fighting.
In the meantime Syrian forces, with the help of Russian sappers, are working to de-mine the city of Palmyra, the taking of which is being held up as both a strategic and symbolic win in the battle against the jihadists.
After IS seized Palmyra last May, they not only demolished objects of world heritage, but rigged the entire ancient city with explosives, leaving behind thousands of mines before their retreat.
Russian mine clearance specialists are now scanning the ancient complex in search of explosives. Over 100 mines have already been defused.
RELATED
Inside Old Palmyra: Exclusive access to ancient relics after ISIS flees
Voltaire, actualité internationale, n°83
-
Nous publions un bulletin hebdomadaire, Voltaire, actualité internationale,
qui résume les faits et les arguments des uns et des autres. Nous avons
débuté ...
Face-saving attack
-
“US Crisis in the Middle East and Africa - With Dr Gerald Horne“
(Nixon).“Iran Just Destroyed US Power in the Middle East | Ambassador Chas
Freeman“ (Neutr...
Today I Cannot Say
-
Today I Cannot Say April 18 2024 ___________________________________ More
Vids! +BN Vids Archive! HERE! ___________________________________ Support
The Bro...
Rolex Watches and Wonders 2024
-
I’m Chris Rovzar, the editor of Bloomberg Pursuits, and I’m here to guide
you through the highlights of the 2024 Watches and Wonders fair. As I sit
on the ...
Israel’s Imperial Point of View
-
Israel’s Prevailing Imperial Point of View by Lawrence Davidson (Reprinted
from November 2012) Introduction Israel’s evolution has been driven
consistently...
Report on Beth Israel vigil 03-09-24
-
*Jews as Controlled Opposition*
Please consider: Jews control the Jewish state. There should be no
argument against that statement. But what’s telling i...
Ikhras Endorses Muntadhar Al-Zaidi
-
“Oh parties of banditry and sectarianism and corruption, we have come and
our goal is to destroy you.” Ikhras formally endorses Muntadhar al-Zaidi,
Iraqi j...
Guantánamo Bay victim sues Ottawa for $50 million
-
Djamel Ameziane, an Algerian-born technician, who took refuge in Canada in
1995, sues Canadian government for $50 million as compensation for the
detention...
Palestinian Women – One for All, All for One
-
Honouring All Palestinian Women by Honouring Three: Hanin Zoabi, Ahed
Tamimi, Samah Sabawi Vacy Vlazna “Palestinian women have always stood side
by side ...
US’s Saudi Oil Deal from Win-Win to Mega-Lose
-
By F. William Engdahl Who would’ve thought it would come to this? Certainly
not the Obama Administration, and their brilliant geo-political think-tank
neo-...
-
*Mordechai Vanunu wins human rights prize of Brazilian Press Association *
* http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/features/updates/7038-mordechai...
Abdul Aziz Rantissi:
"My ultimate wish, my God, is to attain martyrdom,"...God granted him his wish on April 17, 2004, at the hands of Israeli assassins.
No comments:
Post a Comment