ALEPPO (Agenzia Fides): “After three days of attacks, the so-called opposition militias have taken over the city. Now everything is quiet. The city is in limbo. And nobody tells us anything,” said Maronite Archbishop Joseph Tobji of Aleppo, Fides reported on November 30.
“After the fighting, there is no bloodshed at the moment, thank God,” Archbishop Tobji continued. “The army has left Aleppo and the city is now in the hands of the opposition militias. There are rumours about the arrival of Syrian army troops, but nothing is certain. We live in uncertainty.”
The BBC reported that the Syrian government had lost control of Aleppo for the firest time since the civil war began 2011 and the first time rebels have reached Aleppo since being forced out by the army in 2016.
Syria’s military confirmed on Saturday that rebels had entered “large parts” of the city and dozens of soldiers had been killed or injured in the fighting.
In a statement, it said troops had been withdrawn from Aleppo temporarily “to prepare a counteroffensive”.
Archbishop Tobji said that the armed groups that have taken over Syria’s second largest city have spread videos and photos on social networks to document how, in just a few days, the whole of Aleppo has fallen into their hands.
For the moment, his church remains open, services are taking place and there are no reports of direct attacks on targets linked to Christian communities.
“For the moment, we are calm, but we do not know what will happen. It is as if the whole city is living in limbo,” he said.
Archbishop Tobji reported that the offensive by the rebels, including jihadists, “came as a surprise.” There were no advance warnings.
“Life here started up again. The situation was calm, but now everything is closed. The shops, the bakeries… People do not know how to make ends meet and they have not stocked up. Nobody warned us,” the archbishop said.
Father Hugo Alaniz, priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, also confirmed that almost the entire city of Aleppo is in the hands of the rebels.
“This morning, we set out together with Bishop Hanna [Jalouf, the apostolic vicar of Aleppo for Latin Rite Catholics] and visited some of our parishes, and we will continue our tours in the coming hours. At the moment everyone is fine, thank God,” the Argentinian missionary reported.
“In the area adjacent to the bishop’s residence, Carmelites and sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta lived with 60 elderly people who they care for. The students from the student residence and other religious women have meanwhile moved to other parts of the city. And everyone asks for prayers,” Father Alaniz said.
