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Armenian-Montrealers Call On Canada To Intervene In Kessab

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  • Armenian-Montrealers Call On Canada To Intervene In Kessab

    ARMENIAN-MONTREALERS CALL ON CANADA TO INTERVENE IN KESSAB

    CBC News, Canada
    March 31 2014

    Armenian-inhabited village of Kessab in Syria attacked by rebel forces

    When news came that the historic Armenian-inhabited village of Kessab
    in Syria had been attacked by rebel forces and its people were forced
    to flee, a shudder went through the global Armenian community.

    Kessab, normally a 2,000-person village on the border between Syria
    and Turkey, was primarily settled by Armenians in the 14th and 15th
    centuries.

    Just over a week ago, insurgents with reported ties to al-Qaeda
    pushed into the area with Turkey's blessing, forcing Armenians from
    their homes.

    Online, the hashtag #SaveKessab is being used on social media platforms
    to draw attention to the devastation the village and its people have
    faced in the Syrian civil war.

    In Montreal, Lalai Manjikian, an Armenian-Montrealer with family
    in Kessab, said she fears for the town, which she described as a
    "gorgeous, mountainous village" just a few kilometres from the
    Mediterranean Sea.

    "Like many Armenians throughout the world, I feel personally a deep
    historic and ancestral connection to Kessab," Manjikian told CBC
    Daybreak host Mike Finnerty on Monday.

    "The situation is dire. Our family members have fled Kessab and
    they've taken refuge mainly in Latakia (a major port city in Syria),"
    Manjikian said. "They now find themselves in complete limbo."

    Hagop Der Katchadourian, the chairman of the Armenian National
    Committee International Council, said forces opposed to Syrian
    President Bashar al-Assad have moved in and taken control of Kessab.

    MOBILE USERS: Listen to CBC Daybreak interview here

    He said major damage has been done to homes, many of which are
    centuries-old, in Kessab and that churches in the small village had
    been "desecrated" by anti-Assad rebel forces.

    "It is definitely taken at this stage because those forces are still
    roaming the streets," Der Katchadourian said.

    He said, however, that it is important to distinguish between
    legitimate rebel forces fighting the Assad regime, and extremist
    groups ransacking the area.

    Both Der Katchadourian and Manjikian called on the Canadian government
    to continue protecting minority groups in Syria, as well as to provide
    humanitarian assistance to displaced Armenians.

    Der Katchadourian also said the Canadian government and Prime Minister
    Stephen Harper should tell Turkey that allowing cross-border attacks
    is not acceptable.

    "Turkey is a major regional power and as such it has full control of
    its frontiers," he said.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/armenian-montrealers-call-on-canada-to-intervene-in-kessab-1.2592528

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