Pope Francis Sends Letter to Syrian President Urging to Maintain Peace

The Pope has urged Bashar-al Assad to uphold the laws of humanity in Syria through a letter sent through Cardinal Mario Zenari.

The situation in Aleppo has taken an alarming turn in the past few days. Taking cognizance of the graveness of the situation, the Holy Father has sent a letter to the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad requesting him to take proactive steps towards maintaining peace in the state. The Pope has asked the president to take effective measures to safeguard human rights and to protect the Syrians from the terrible genocide that they are facing.

Pope Francis Sends Letter to Syrian President Urging to Maintain Peace[/tweetthis]

Things turned worse in Aleppo after a ceasefire deal crumbled, erupting in more terrible violence than ever before. The Pope sent a letter through Cardinal Mario Zenari, urging him to pay heed to the larger community’s appeals to put an end to the senseless violence that has already claimed so many lives. Although the Syrian army general assured that the Syrian army was in its “final stages of recapturing the city from rebel forces,” the citizens are still victims of brutal violence.

The Vatican released a statement about the letter affirming that the Pope has asked the president as well as global leaders to put an end to the violence and to bring relief to the Syrian people who are “sorely tried.” The Pope has heavily condemned terrorism and extremism of all kinds and has asked the president to not tolerate any kind of violence no matter which quarter it comes from. The Holy Father has also urged the president to ensure that humanitarian laws are completely adhered to by the nation to enable the citizens to have access to humanitarian aid.

Cardinal Zenari said that the letter was a reflection of the deep affection that the Pope had towards the people of Syria. In fact, one of the new Cardinals that the Pope has appointed recently is the Papal Nuncio to Syria – something that has never happened before.

The Civil War has already resulted in the deaths of 300,000 Syrians, and has forced 4.8 million Syrians to be refugees. Another 8 million are estimated to be otherwise displaced in the country itself. The Civil War had begun in 2011, when protests had erupted in Syria against the regime of Assad. Eventually, the protests turned into a full-blown civil war being fought today by different parties. Although the Syrian Army has reclaimed 90% of Aleppo, the imprisoned civilians are still in the custody of the rebels.

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