Damascus, Syria, Aug 25, 2012 / 15:38 pm
Syrian rebel forces have trapped over 12,000 Greek Catholics in a village near the Lebanese border, causing shortages of food, medicine and other urgent supplies.
For over 10 days the village of Rableh in the area of Homs has suffered under a strict blockade from armed opposition forces that have surrounded it, Fides news agency says. Snipers have killed at least three men of the village, including a married father of four.
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gergorios III Laham has appealed to men of good will to ensure that "Rableh is saved and all other villages affected in Syria." He has asked "for peace to be reached in our beloved country."
Archbishop Mario Zenari, the apostolic nuncio to Syria, has asked both sides of the conflict to adhere to "the strict observance of the international humanitarian law."