Assault on Maaloula

Maaloula is an ancient Christian mountain town, located around 60 kilometers north-east of Damascus, famous for its enclave of people who speak Aramaic, the language Jesus is said to have spoken.

Iy38UQ9EQ6o Maaloula in December 2008

First Assault
On September 4th 2013, Al-Nusra affiliated militants assaulted the town. According to loyalist sources, the attack started with a Jordanian suicide bomber driving a reinforced Mercedes truck full of explosives towards an army checkpoint at the northern entrance of the city. The huge explosion killed 13 soldiers. The Jordanian was part of a "Brigade of the Immigrants" group consisting mostly of Chechen fighters and coming from the Deir Al-Zour area to Maaloula (through the desert), entering the town after chaos was created.

The source reports that after "the usual Chechen-style slaughter-orgy" by the group and following SAA reinforcements, the army was mostly in control again by the evening of Thursday, September 5th. A team of Russia Today visiting the town two days later, though, came into crossfire of ongoing fights between the Army and Islamists.

After many announcements of the town being "almost" without militant presence (see article collection below), at one point likely in October security was finally restored but it is unclear how many residents came back to town.

Second Assault and Kidnapped Nuns
While a major SAA operation up in the mountains was under way, some militants were able to break the alleged siege there and return to Maaloula in late November, rolling tires filled with explosives from the cliffs into city center and again taking hostages.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on its Facebook page December 4 that this time, the nuns of the city's monastery - apparently all of them, whatever number - were kidnapped by the rebels of Jabhat al-Nusra:
 * Activists from al-Qalamoun of Reef Dimashq reported to the SOHR that the Martaqla monastery's sisters are in the Yabroud city after they were abducted from the Ma'loula town and transported through the al-Sarkha area of Yabroud city. The activists confirmed that the sisters are with the al-Nusra front and have not been subject to any physical harm so far.


 * The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights demands that the sisters be immediately handed to the ICRC since it is most capable of securing a safe haven for them and ensuring their safety and well-being.

uXq-HKP7Hjk Maaloula in December 2013

(A comment there provides several more links on this episode):
 * http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/pope-prays-12-nuns-abducted-syria-rebels-21091548
 * http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Dec-04/239877-lebanon-mufti-calls-for-release-of-maaloula-nuns.ashx#axzz2mcAVbuEL
 * http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Dec-05/239964-bishops-mufti-condemn-kidnapping-of-nuns-orphans-from-syrian-town.ashx#axzz2mmr5xK21
 * The country’s Maronite bishops made a fervent plea Wednesday for the release of 12 nuns as well as orphans the women look after at a convent in Syria. :“The bishops strongly deplore and condemn the kidnapping of the nuns and orphans in Maaloula,” a statement from the Council of Maronite Bishops said at the end of their monthly meeting chaired by Patriarch Beshara Rai at Bkirki.
 * “What do those who pray for peace in the Syrian conflict have to do with this?” they asked.
 * The meeting of bishops urged the international community to determine the whereabouts of the nuns and return them to the convent.


 * Rebels, including fighters from the Islamist Nusra Front, Monday recaptured Maaloula, located north of Damascus, from Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces after three days of heavy clashes. At the time of the recapture, the nuns were inside the convent there and were among only a few residents left in the Christian town.


 * The nuns and dozens of orphans were first trapped in the convent back in September, when the first round of fighting between Assad’s forces and rebels began in Maaloula.


 * http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/12/03/syrian-bishop-says-nuns-kidnapping-has-shocked-christians/
 * http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syrian-rebels-abducted-12-nuns-head-of-convent-says/article15741846/
 * http://www.christianpost.com/news/un-called-on-to-offer-greater-protection-for-christians-in-syria-after-a-dozen-nuns-kidnapped-110018/
 * http://www.christiantoday.com/article/syria.calls.for.missing.nuns.to.be.released/34936.htm
 * http://www.france24.com/en/20131203-syrian-rebels-take-control-maaloula-ancient-christian-town

(from a later comment): This last report has an opposition group called Free Qalamoun announcing the nuns had been kidnapped and were safe so far, but they "will not be released until several demands have been implemented."
 * http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/syrian-hostage-swap-nuns_n_4396976.html

On December 20, NPR aired a report where an Islamist rebel leader, "Abu Majid," again claimed the nuns voluntarily left with rebels for their own safety, after the government started trying to blow up the church. His account is said to be confirmed by church officials and by the not-captive mother Superior, who, along with the rest, still have not left the Christian-owned villa rebels put them in after the alleged rescue. (see talk page: Abu Majid's Story for more details)

Further developments - for now, see Talk:Assault on Maaloula

In late December, more than one large group trying to reinforce the militants was successfully ambushed by the SAA, killing hundreds, while the empty town including the hills remain in "rebel" hands as videos (see below) show.

Nuns released
On March 9, 2014, the nuns were finally released after several rounds of negotiations and at least one change of location due to SAA forces approaching Yabroud. There are several versions about the details of the release, with SANA making it seem like Assad played the mayor role and western media meandering between parroting the "rebel" narrative of "protecting" the nuns and obfuscating the events. A very detailed and rather plausible seeming report comes from local daily As-Safir, translated to English by Lebanese Al Manar. According to this, the final release came after the Syrian Government repeatedly refused to give in to demands to release huge numbers of prisoners, and negotiations between the higher-ups of Al Nusra and envoys from Qatar finally led to a deal where Qatar payed 16 million dollars for immediate release of the nuns. The head of the original kidnapper group, Mithqal Hamama, had been killed in an SAA ambush a couple of days earlier which sped up the negotiating process.

Articles

 * This is Maaloula, Syria.
 * Jabhat al-Nusra and Other Islamists Briefly Capture Historic Christian Town of Ma’loula – Matthew Barber for Syria Comment, Sept 5, 2013
 * Syria: Fate of Historic Christian Town Still Unknown, Al Akhbar, Sept 9, 2013
 * Jihadis forced conversions in Maaloula, as UN reports on Syria war crimes, Al Akhbar, September 11, 2013 ... "However, they were still in the town on Wednesday, a Syrian security source said."
 * Maalula, land of martyrs: death in odium fidei of the young Sarkis, Agenzia Fides, September 12, 2013
 * The Islamists warned everyone present to convert to Islam. Sarkis answered clearly: "I am a Christian and if you want to kill me because I am a Christian, do it". The young man together with the other two were killed cold bloodedly. The woman was injured and was saved by a miracle, later taken to hospital in Damascus. 


 * 300-400 Al Nusra militants killed by Syrian government forces near Maaloula, ITAR-TASS, September 15, 2013


 * A top-ranking Syrian army officer told Itar-Tass that the government forces on Sunday alone had killed from 300 to 400 terrorists. However, judging by the flow of ambulance car rushing for the site of fighting, there are losses among the Syrian army as well. The officer vowed that all the militants would be forced out of the city in a couple of days and journalists would be able to reach the Christian shrines in that city. This week, Russian journalists made three attempts to get to the Monastery of Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Thekla but each time they had to retreat because of militant attacks.


 * Tales from village-turned-battlefield: Maaloula siege survivors talk, RT video report from Damascus, September 20, 2013
 * At the beginning of September rebel jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front took over the town. Several attempts by government troops to drive them out of the village have so far not succeeded.


 * Fighting traps nuns, orphans in Syria's ancient Maaloula, Al Akhbar, September 24, 2013
 * "The Mar Takla convent is living through painful days because it is in the middle of the zone where fire is being exchanged, which makes getting supplies difficult and dangerous," the Damascus-based Patriarchate said in a statement. "The generator has gone out because of the fighting, halting the supply of water to the convent and threatening the lives of those inside," the statement added. It issued an "urgent appeal" to humanitarian groups to "ensure the necessary supplies to residents of the convent, nuns and orphans who number close 40 people."


 * Syria crisis: In sacred Maaloula, where they speak the language of Christ, war leads neighbours into betrayal, Robert Fisk, The Independent, September 25, 2013
 * A Syrian Second Lieutenant called Talal told me that the caves had now been surrounded and that the Nusra snipers would run out of supplies. But if this is true – given the number of bullets cracking down the streets during my visit – the insurgents still seem to have plenty of ammunition.


 * Syria: Kidnappers of Maaloula Nuns Expand Operations, Al Akhbar, January 9, 2014
 * Negotiations are underway between mediators in Lebanon and Syria to secure the release of the 12 kidnapped nuns in addition to four young women from the orphanage that the nuns ran. [...] the Syrian army conducts air strikes against militants in Maaloula from time to time, but so far, it doesn’t seem to be undertaking any serious effort to retake the town.


 * Syrian Patriarch: Abducted Maaloula nuns are "well", Al Akhbar, January 25, 2014
 * [Syrian Patriarch John] Yazigi on Saturday said he spoke with the nuns over the phone earlier this week and that they appeared to be in good in health. "They are believed to be at a residence in Yabroud, and they are well," the cleric was quoted as saying by Lebanon's National News Agency from Beirut's international airport ahead of a visit to Moscow. "Negotiations are still ongoing," he added.


 * Maaloula Nun Captors Seek Release of All Islamist Prisoners in Roumieh, Al Akhbar, January 27, 2014


 * This "authorless" article has a lot of partly rather far-fetched sounding details about the negotiations, based on "informed sources". According to this, the nuns are in a palace in Yabroud whose owner George Haswani, a local businessman with good ties to Assad, has invited the kidnapper group to stay there for the comfort of the nuns.


 * Syria Militants Move Kidnapped Nuns, Shia Post, March 6, 2014


 * Allegedly the contact to the kidnappers has been lost and it's suspected that the nuns were moved from Yabroud up into the mountains. This comes while the SAA is closing in on Yabroud and could be strategic disinformation. According to the article, the kidnappers leader is one Abu Malek al-Kuwaiti.

Videos

 * بيان خروج المجاهدين من قرية معلولا بعد تحريرها للمرة الثانية 8 9 2013 (Mujahideen statement out the village of Maloula after editing for the second time) – September 8, 2013
 * Rebels asked the nuns if they did hurt them or did anything wrong toward them as Christians. The nuns replied no, we are grateful for you and thank you.
 * Ma'loula - Press Tv Reporting While Mortars are Raining Down - Syrian Arab Army, Sept 8, 2013
 * Uploaded September 8, the infamous Farouk Brigade can be seen shooting from what looks like the Al-Safir Hotel up the mountain and taking a serious hit while hanging out at the pool of likely the same Hotel
 * Events Leading to Invasion of Ancient Christian Town of Maaloula by Al Qaeda Terrorist, SyrianPerspective, September 21, 2013 - Collection of English subtitled video snippets including the farewell statements of the suicide bomber "Abu Musaab" and his act of blowing up the historical town gates.
 * Mohammed Zhori: from the eastern entrance to the city of Maloula, November 30, 2013 - "Rebel" report from the partly destroyed Safir Hotel
 * Impressions from Maaloula, destruction, burning buildings, church bells tolling, spooky, December 6, 2013
 * Dead and mutilated/beheaded soldiers in the streets, GRAPHIC, Dec 6, 2013 - this video carries the logo of Tahrer Al Sham, the subgroup of Liwa al-Islam which organized and closely guarded a visit of UN investigators to an alleged site of the famous alleged CW attack in Damascus suburbs late August 2013.
 * Late December video collection showing both town and hills in "rebel" hands.