Report Says Missiles Came From Direction of Turkish Border
KESSAB, Syria—The mostly Armenian-populated Syrian town of Kessab was hit by two BM-21″Grad” missiles at 3:15 and 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 20, according to a report by the Aleppo-based Kantsasar newspaper. One of the missiles, which came from the Keless and Mazraat Saraafi regions (approximately 10-13 miles from Kessab) in the direction of the Turkish border, landed approximately 160 feet from the town’s mosque, while the other landed in the street behind Kessab’s Holy Trinity Armenian Evangelical Church, according to Kantsasar.
The missiles reportedly caused substantial material damages. Though no fatalities were reported, one Kessab resident was injured in the incident. “The residents of Kessab, especially the children who were playing outside of their homes, were severely shaken,” read part of the Kantsasar report.
Dr. Nerses Sarkissian, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee of Syria and of the Syrian Armenian Committee for Urgent Relief and Rehabilitation, in a Dec. 9, 2015 interview with the Armenian Weekly said that about 1,500 Armenians currently live in the town of Kesssab, down from more than 2,000 before the start of the Syrian War.
Sarkissian also said that members of Kessab’s Armenian community had employed a system of volunteer guards to ensure the safety of the people, as is the case for Aleppo and Kamishli. “Even when there are rocket attacks, our volunteers help to avoid panic from taking over the community. In times of crisis, the volunteers help distribute food, water, and other basic needs, and help people move to safer spaces. All of this is done systematically and in a highly organized fashion,” Sarkissian said in December 2015.
The Syrian Army officially announced its recapture of Kessab on June 15, 2015. The al Qaeda-affiliated militants who had captured the town began abandoning Kessab on June 15; by that evening, Kantsasar reported that Syrian Army forces had advanced onto the city square and seized control of the strategic town.
Armenians should all leave the Middle East. There is no future their in that all of the surrounding countries including the United States don’t care about the Christians.
The ARF and other self-appointed vanguards of our nation are clearly out to lunch.What will it take for our people to realize that there can be no safe haven where Islam rules the roost?Our political “leaders” should have mobilized our ethnic kinsmen long ago and organized an orderly exit from these accursed lands.Instead,we will witness once again a panicky exodus when the killing orgy begins.Where is the organized effort to repatriate the remnants to the fatherland,Armenia?Would the Jewish diaspora act in the same lackadaisical fashion if fellow Jews were imperiled?Let us take a page from Israel’s textbook on what to do in a similar situation.Remember the Falasha Jews of Ethiopia?All it took was a hint of persecution and soon Israeli commercial aircraft were evacuating the entire population of black Falasha Jews to Israel.I call that leadership,whereas our self-appointed leaders are more interested in preserving their political privileges,a fact that dictates keeping our kinsmen in lands where our political leaders can lord it over them.
GARABED AND VIKEN
Should we not be proud on Armenians that prefer to stay in the country they regard as their homeland ? Before the times in which Islam developed, Syria,Iraq and even big parts of Iran have been Christian countries. So all these Christians still living there now, are brave people who don´t want to give up. For me these people have strong characters. And they surely have the hope that all wars end one day. Furthermore the Assad Family supported their Armenian minority over a long period.
On the other hand we have to ask ourselves, what expect Armenian refugees in Armenia ? The current Armenian government is unable and also unwilling to support any refugees. So only refugees with a certain financial background have minor chances in Armenia. Therefore I can understand every Armenian, who intends to stay in Syria or Iraq as long as possible. For me, these people that resist the horrible circumstances under which they have to live, are heroes.