CWN - The Christian population of Aleppo, Syria, has been cut by two-thirds in the past five years, and the city's Catholic bishop admits "a real fear that our community might disappear altogether."
Bishop Antoine Audo, speaking to reporters in Rome, said that about 100,000 Christians have left Aleppo, out of a pre-war population of 150,000. Today, he reported, "One part of the city is controlled by the government, while the rest is in the hands of fundamentalist groups who are constantly attacking the area controlled by the Syrian army-- and that's where the majority of Christians live."
Aleppo is especially vulnerable, the bishop said, because it is situated near Turkey: a country that, he charged, "is continuing to arm and welcome the fundamentalists."
Commenting on the mass exodus of refugees from Syria, Bishop Audo said that the country's people are losing hope. The refugees are mainly young men, he said, because they "fear being called up for military service and don't want to take part in a senseless war."
Bishop Audo said that Christians are "determined to stay on in Syria." But the situation is grim, he said, because "there seems to be a desire on the part of the international community to see the war continue."
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