{"id":1717,"date":"2012-11-30T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/car-bombs-terrorize-syrian-christians-in-damascus\/"},"modified":"2012-11-30T09:05:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T09:05:00","slug":"car-bombs-terrorize-syrian-christians-in-damascus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/car-bombs-terrorize-syrian-christians-in-damascus\/","title":{"rendered":"Car bombs terrorize Syrian Christians in Damascus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Damascus, Syria, Nov 30, 2012 \/ 02:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Two deadly car bombs that exploded in a Damascus suburb Nov. 28 killed at least 34 people and are \u201cterrorizing\u201d the Christian population, a local priest says.<\/p>\n

\tFather Romualdo Fernandez, rector of the Damascene Shrine of the Conversion of St. Paul, told Fides news agency that the \u201cmassacre\u201d has \u201cspread terrible panic\u201d and some schools report that half the teachers were absent the day after the attack.<\/p>\n

\t\u201c(W)hoever are the people behind the crime, if the aim was to terrorize the Christians, they are succeeding,\u201d Fr. Fernandez said.<\/p>\n

\tTwo bombs exploded in the eastern suburb of Jaramana, a district loyal to Syria\u2019s President Bashar Assad. The car bombs exploded within five minutes of each other in a parking lot between two commercial buildings, killing and wounding laborers and employees.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe attack had been prepared to kill as many people as possible: when the first car bomb exploded, people approached, and only then the second bomb exploded,\u201d Fr. Nicholas Haddad of the Greek-Catholic monastery of San Germano told Fides.<\/p>\n

\tHe said many of the victims of the bombing were young people and students.<\/p>\n

\tMost of the victims were Muslims and Druze. Fr. Haddad said eight Christians, either Greek Catholic or Greek Orthodox, were among the dead. The priest reported that at least 10 Christians were among the dozens of wounded.<\/p>\n

\tThere were no immediate claims of responsibility for the bombings.<\/p>\n

\tGovernment officials blamed the attack on \u201cterrorists,\u201d a label they frequently use for the armed rebels. Opposition forces blamed the attack on a government intelligence operation.<\/p>\n

\tConflict between the Syrian government and rebel forces has continued for 20 months. As many as 40,000 people have been killed since March 2011.<\/p>\n

\tRebel forces have won several tactical victories in recent weeks, taking air bases and other strategic facilities. Internet and cell phone access failed to work on Thursday, leading to claims that the government had taken down the services to stall rebel offensives or in preparation for an offensive of its own.<\/p>\n

\tAnalysts told the Associated Press that most of the rebels are ordinary Syrians and soldiers who have defected because of their opposition to the government. However, foreign fighters and those dedicated to an extremist form of Islam are increasingly appearing on the battle front.<\/p>\n

\tThe rebels are predominantly Sunni Muslim, the majority religion in Syria. President Assad is a member of the Alawite religious minority, a branch of Shiite Islam. Other religious minorities, including Christians, tend to support his government.<\/p>\n

\tThe Jaramana suburb is known for its large Christian and Druze presence. Many Christian refugees, such as those \u201cethnically cleansed\u201d from the city of Homs, have found refuge there.<\/p>\n

\tFr. Fernandez said there are even fewer Syrian Christians after the Iraq war.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey give all the money they have to reach Lebanon, and from there they run away from the Middle East \u2013 while foreign powers and the international community blow on the flames, instead of forcing the parties to negotiate a settlement that puts an end to this massacre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Damascus, Syria, Nov 30, 2012 \/ 02:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two deadly car bombs that exploded in a Damascus suburb Nov. 28 killed at least 34 people and are “terrorizing” the Christian population, a local priest says.<\/p>\n

\tFather Romualdo Fern…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa"],"yoast_head":"\nCar bombs terrorize Syrian Christians in Damascus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Damascus, Syria, Nov 30, 2012 \/ 02:05 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Two deadly car bombs that exploded in a Damascus suburb Nov. 28 killed at least 34 people and are “terrorizing” the Christian population, a local priest says. 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