Christmas brings hope for peace for Aleppo’s Christians
Christians part of region’s DNA, said incoming UN secretary-general; Turkey’s “impossible war”; Erdogan backers blame Iran for Aleppo.
Aleppo celebrates Christmas
The costs of the war in Aleppo have been catastrophic, but the city’s Christians are seeking inspiration and hope in the Christmas season.
Jesuit Priest Ziad Hilal, who represents Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic nongovernmental organization in Syria, told The Christian Post, "Despite the harsh conditions the people of Aleppo are enduring, [for both] Christians and Muslims, Christmas brings the hope for peace that we have missed for the last five years. Although many churches have been destroyed in Aleppo, the bells of the other churches will sound and hope they bring us peace," he said.
The population of Aleppo has fallen from 5 million to 1.5 million as a result of the war; only 30,000 Christians remain, from a pre-war community of 120,000.
