Labor Green Loon VOTE People : "I'm a tourist not a terrorist," Mr Biber, of Merrylands, in Sydney's west " aka Sydney's Occupied Territories

'I'm a tourist ... not a terrorist': Merrylands man posts happy snaps on Facebook after anti-terror raids

Yoni Bashan State Politrical Reporter
The Sunday Telegraph
December 7,2013

 A MAN allegedly recruited from Sydney to fight in the Syrian civil war has declared himself a "tourist" not "a terrorist".


Mehmet Biber, 21, one of six men allegedly sent to fight in Syria with rebel forces, posted happy snaps and a message to friends after raids by anti-terror authorities in Sydney on Tuesday.

"I'm a tourist not a terrorist," Mr Biber, of Merrylands, in Sydney's west, wrote beside four photographs of various landmarks which indicate he is in Istanbul, Turkey.

The posting was prompted after his name emerged during a bail hearing for alleged ringleader Hamdi Alqudsi, 39, who was arrested in the raids.

Police allege Biber was one of several men sent by a network of individuals, lead by Alqudsi, to "engage in armed hostilities" in Syria.

Biber's earlier postings from late October indicate time spent in Syria. They include pictures of bombed out buildings, injured children and a dead aid worker. A video uploaded from a mobile phone shows rebel forces firing at a helicopter.

He has also previously quoted the deceased US-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been described by NSW counter terror chief Peter Dein as one of the most dangerous men in the world.

Biber's family claim he left Australia to go on holiday.

Police have also identified links between Biber and members of the street gang Brothers For Life. One of those gang members, Hicham Ismail, is on remand facing sentencing next year for a brutal assault.

That link is one of several that have emerged between Sydney's religious Islamic community and the BFL street gang.

Other links have also been brought to light through the work of a police taskforce known as Strike Force Maloney, which has been investigating an attempted murder outside a sex club at Rydalmere on May 1.

One man charged with the alleged shooting is Osama Sarwat Toffic, identified by police as an associate of the BFL gang.

Toffic was arrested as he tried to board a flight for Germany, en route to Turkey, on November 15.

Police will allege Wassim Fayad, 46, a figurehead during last year's Muslim riots, assisted Toffic to leave Australia.

Fayad has been charged with being an accessory to the attempted murder, along with two other men, including Wesam Hamze, 29, a first-cousin to BFL founder Bassam Hamzy.

Hamzy, a follower of radical Islam, is presently in Supermax jail.

Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad Commander Deb Wallace said a number of BFL members had an interest in Islam, however their motives for crime were not based on religion.

"Certainly some arrested recently have been more involved in Islam but it's not because of that they are involved in criminal activity," Det Supt Wallace said.

"There have been cases where they might say a particular crime is based on religious reasons, but that to me is an excuse."



While the BFL leadership were weakened a series of arrests last month, one issue remaining for police is the emergence of its Blacktown chapter, which is stacked with Afghans and Middle Eastern recruits.

It is lead by a man who cannot be named, due to a court order, but he is known locally as "The Afghan".

He has beaten three separate murder charges and was recruited directly by Hamzy while in jail.

His younger brother was recently charged over the alleged shooting of rival BFL gang members during a drug turf war in Bankstown.

Washed Karimi, 18, also born in another Afghanistan, was charged in relation to that shooting. His older brother Mohammed Karimi is serving a minimum 30-years jail over the unrelated 2010 murder of security guard Kesley Burgess.

A third man charged over the Chokolatta shooting is Iranian Mobin Merzaei, 22.

He is the younger brother of Mesbah Merzaei, 25, who was charged over the attempted extortion of a smash repairer in North Sydney.

Det Supt Wallace said the recruitment of siblings was not a new trend.

"The idea is hopefully these young ones grow up and grow out," he said.

Labor Green Loon VOTE People arrested for sending "Australians" to fight in Syria

Sydney men 'sent Aussies to fight in Syria'

Clemtine Cuneo
The Daily Telegraph
December 3,2013

THE husband of controversial Muslim woman Carnita Matthews is one of two people arrested today for sending Australians to fight on the front lines of Syria's civil war.

Hamdi Alqudsi, 39, was arrested at his St Helen's Park home, at the same time police were arresting a 23-year-old man in Lidcombe.

Alqudsi is the husband of Ms Matthews' who is best known for her run in with police, when she refused to remove her burqa during a random breath test, two years ago.

The pair has several children between them

Police allege Alqudsi organised travel and arranged overseas contacts for six Australians to fight in Syria.

This allegedly included fighting with the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra and affiliates of al-Qaeda.

NSW commissioner of special operations Catherine Burn told reporters in Sydney the arrests are notable.

``We have identified who we believe is the principal person involved in the facilitation method of sending people over to Syria to engage in the conflict,'' she said.

``That puts a significant dent into this particular network.''

Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner of national security Peter Drennan said the men were not involved in any terrorism threat against Australia.

But he said people travelling to Syria to fight were engaging in illegal activity and could find themselves associating with terrorists.

While police are confident they have dismantled this particular syndicate, he said they expected further arrests and would continue to investigate.

Mr Drennan said around 100 Australians are suspected of being involved in the Syrian conflict at the moment.

'`Our real concern is to get a handle on the number of people going, where they are going, and if possible firstly to prevent them going,'' he said.

He said investigations were ongoing into the five men whom the group allegedly organised.

Alqudsi and the other man are due to face court later today.

Carnita Matthews thug minders, linked to Radical Muslim Cleric

Carnita Matthews Driving Record

Carnita Matthews husband,Ibrahim Galiel claims “….my wife has suffered”

Australia’s Multicultural Media reports Carnita Matthews to seek costs and compensation from NSW Tax payers.

Judge Defends Decision & Carnita Matthews son Defends Lieing Mother on Sydney Radio

Lieing Muslim Carnita Matthews and former Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib engage in Muslim Festival of LIES and Deceit

Lieing Muslim Hag in a Bag’s supporters aka.Muslim Savages, charge Media and pedestrians whilst invoking the Head Hunters Chant of "allah ackbar" following the appeal of Carnita Matthews been upheld in Sydney Court.

Lieing Muslim, HAG in a BAG, Carnita Matthews Sentenced to six months in Jail, for Lies and Deception,by Sydney, Campbelltown Magistrate.

Muslim Insurgent Terrorist Fifth Column active on Australian Soil as Obama's Arab Spring escalates in Syria

Syria war spills on to local streets

Paul Maley
The Australian
October 7, 2013

SYRIA'S two-year-old civil war is spilling on to the streets of Sydney and Melbourne, with advocates on both sides claiming violence and persecution are commonplace.

Sonya El-Abbas, a Melbourne-based nurse who has twice visited Syria to assist in humanitarian relief efforts, said her husband's car had been firebombed and the family home attacked.

"Basically, they tried to burn it while we were in Syria and prior to that they tried to shoot at us at our home," Ms El-Abbas said. "We were copping it big time."

Ms El-Abbas, whose brother Robert was killed in the conflict last year, said her husband's car displayed the emblem of the Free Syrian Army, with whom she had worked during her trips to Syria.

EXPERTS: UN starts on eliminating weapons

Ms El-Abbas said Australians were heavily involved in the Syrian conflict although she stressed they were working in a humanitarian capacity, not as fighters. "I've seen heaps of people go after I've come back and a lot of people want to go," she said. "Every day I come across these people and not to fight, no."

Jamal Daoud, an opponent of the uprising, said he was routinely abused and threatened. Mr Daoud was assaulted on the street, with his attacker convicted.

"For the last one year we have seen a lot of attacks on the Shia," he said. "There have been a lot of attacks on Shia and Alawi businesses. We are also seeing boycotts of business."

Syria's civil war has pitted the country's Sunni Muslims against the Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad. The Alawites are a Syrian-origin offshoot of Shia Islam.

In Australia, much of the sectarian division has been played out online, with Facebook pages and websites naming Shia businesses and urging boycotts.

Police have also seen a rise in the transmission of gruesome footage from the war, which proliferates quickly in the community via text message or social media.

Generally, though, police have played down suggestions the conflict was generating ethnic tensions in Australia, arguing much of the violence thought to have been triggered by the war has in fact been criminal or personal disputes overlaid with a sectarian veneer. However, there is no doubt the pipeline of Australians travelling to Syria is keeping police and ASIO busy. ASIO routinely interviews Australians known to have travelled to Syria, typically inviting people to meet at a restaurant. Asked if she had been contacted by ASIO, Ms Abbas said simply: "Of course".

"The minute you come back from the airport, even if you've got nothing on you they'll go, 'Go to Customs'," she said.

"(They) check your bags and see what photos you've got, they take your phone away."

The head of the Australian Syrian Association, Mohammad Al-Hamwi, agreed the war had exacerbated tensions. He had received more than 23 threats on his mobile phone. Mr Hamwi, whose group supported the uprising, said the two groups were wary of travelling into Shia or Sunni enclaves.

"There are some (Shia) areas where we don't go and vice versa," Mr Hamwi said.

And this from Janurary 2013

Pia Akerman and Dan Box 
The Australian
Janurary 3,2013I 

THE sister of a Melbourne man killed in Syria has vowed to follow in her brother's footsteps and travel to the war-torn country to provide humanitarian aid.

 Sonya El-Abbas said a recent trip to Syria to learn more about the circumstances of her brother Roger's death had compelled her to return with medical supplies and other necessities to assist victims of the civil war.

"I'm so proud of Roger, he has done the right thing," said the registered nurse, who lives in Melbourne with her young family. "I'm going to follow what he was doing and what he started."

Ms El-Abbas said her trip had yielded first-hand accounts of how her brother, 23, was giving humanitarian aid when he was caught in crossfire.

Abbas, a kickboxer, is among three Australians known to have died in the Syrian conflict. Australian government agencies believe more than 100 citizens have joined the civil war, sparking fears a wave of home-grown jihadists with battle experience could emerge.

Overseas news footage purports to show the body of another Australian reportedly killed in the fighting mid last month, but offers no verification. The latest Australian fatality, former Melbourne bricklayer Yusuf Toprakkaya, has been hailed as a martyr after being killed on the weekend.

Mr Toprakkaya's family believe he was there for humanitarian reasons, though videos posted online show the 30-year-old posing with heavy weaponry and building homemade bombs.

This would make him the first Australian who was clearly involved in the fighting when killed.

His name and date of birth also correspond to a list in a secret 2010 cable from the US embassy in Canberra, which requested 23 Australians be added to a terrorist screening database. Ms El-Abbas backed a call by Sydney man Zaky Mallah, who was previously charged under anti-terror laws, for Australians to travel to Syria despite the dangers.

"There is a high chance that you will die," Mr Mallah said. "If that means death, then so be it. To die as a martyr is a great thing in our religion."

Australian Muslim leaders said they had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to send to Syria, but there are fears among security agencies that some of this may be flowing to extremist groups.

A delegation of about 30 Islamic leaders, including the Australian Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, visited the Al-Zatary refugee camp in Jordan earlier this week, to which thousands of Syrians have fled.

Keysar Trad, founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, said many of the delegation were in tears at conditions inside the camp.

Security analysts said they were unaware of Mr Toprakkaya before his name appeared on the US cable, which named people alleged to have some "demonstrated connections" or "association" with al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Monash University's Shandon Harris-Hogan said "he's at the lower end of the list" and may have been included after simply trying to contact the group or one of its senior clerics, Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in 2011.

Unlike many other Australians known to have travelled to Syrian since the outbreak of the civil war, Mr Toprakkaya appeared to have no family connection to those involved. "He's not going there for any personal reason; he's making the decision to help, to fight, because it's something he believes in," said Mr Harris-Hogan, of the university's Global Terrorism Research Centre.

In the absence of any other evidence of a link to extremist groups, it would have been impossible for Australian security agencies to prevent him from travelling overseas, he said.

Deputy Opposition leader Julie Bishop said Mr Toprakkaya' s death "raised questions" over the effectiveness of Australian intelligence services, which had been monitoring him since at least 2010.

"There are numerous groups within the Syrian rebel forces, including several aligned with extremist organisations such as al-Qa'ida," she said.


"So it's important to know what how and where he came to join the forces and whether there are any links back to Australia."

Australian Tax Payers to be forced to fund Labor's SAVAGES of Choice in Syria.

Bob Carr reveals plan to take lead role in aid for Syrian refugees

Simon Benson
The Daily Telegraph
April 22, 201312:00AM

AUSTRALIA has taken a lead role in Syria's humanitarian crisis amid warnings that if not resolved within months, the world would have to deal with the greatest exodus of refugees since World War II.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr last night took an emergency aid plan to a meeting of European foreign leaders and the Arab League which said Australia would immediately boost its medical and food aid by $24 million for the two million people so far forced from their homes.

More Labor boat VOTE People Coming to a Sydney suburb near you soon

Mr Carr said Australia would also offer to help rebuild a future democratic government in the war-torn Middle Eastern country, but demanded terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda played no role in ruling the country.

The country's chemical weapons would also have to be secured so they did not fall into the hands of terrorists.

Australia would not be spared the ultimate knock-on effects of millions of refugees if the regime of Bashar al-Assad was not removed.

"The Syrian war is one of the world's great humanitarian disasters," Mr Carr said. "It has been described as risking the greatest refugee crisis since World War II."

More Labor boat VOTE People Coming to a Sydney suburb near you soon

How many of these "Freedom Fighters" has the Union (ACTU) GetUp funded Labor / Green Looon / Independent, Socialist Minority "Co Party" Australian Government already fast tracked into Australia via their Asylum Seeker / Open Borders / Illegal Immigration Policy / SCAM, and how many are they planning to colonize Australia with in the coming years ?

Syria News 

On April 11, 2013, a Syrian Army helicopter transporting food supplies to villages and Army units was attacked and brought down by NATO’s best assets, the al-Qaeda Free Syrian Army terrorists, using the latest weapons provided by their sponsors. The terrorists rushed to the downed chopper, decapitated the pilots then put their severed heads on the barbecue grill (photo below).

The grilled heads were then placed on metal sticks and paraded through the towns and villages under the control of NATO’s terrorists.
Ironically, Syrian-based media have all been banned in Europe, USA, and Canada. Syrian state and private TV channels were all taken off the air in a decision from the EU & the Arab League in order to cover the news with their own anti-Assad bias.

Meanwhile the USA (Soon to be Bob Carr's Australian Labor Party with Australian Tax Payers taxes)and its allies are trying to segregate the worst of the savages from the regular savages in order to keep supporting the lesser savages. 

Carr's Freedom Fighters aka.Labor's Savages of Choice

More Labor boat VOTE People Coming to a Sydney suburb near you soon

Pious Muslims on Parade coming to a town near YOU sooner than you think.....you DO THINK don't you?

Muslim Beheads Sister to regain Honour In an apparent ‘honor’ killing, 29-year old Mehtab Alam beheaded his younger sister, Nilofer, with a stroke of a sword. On December 7th, Alam dragged his sister out onto the street, cut off her head in one stroke of a sword, then walked to a police station with her head in his hand.

Basic Everyday acts of Godless Blood Lusting Savagery to appease "allah" and or regain "Honour"

Christian Beheaded by Syrian Terrorists 

Sister Agnes Miriam Cross, said: "His only crime was to be a Christian. "

Syrian rebels beheaded a Christian man of thirty years and have fed dogs with parts of his body, according to a nun who says that the West ignores atrocities committed by Islamic extremists of the Christian community. She said she found the decapitated body of one of his own on the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs. 
He had just married and was about to be a father. Sister Agnes Miriam Cross, said: "His only crime was to be a Christian. ' There are a growing number of atrocities committed by rogue elements of the Syrian army free to oppose the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and recognized by Great Britain and the West as the legitimate party. 

Sister Agnes Miriam, the mother superior of the convent of Saint-Jacques, condemned Britain and the West supporting the rebels despite evidence increasingly flagrant violations of human rights for murder, kidnapping, rape and theft becoming more common. "The free and democratic world supporting the extremists," said Sister Agnes Miriam its sanctuary in Lebanon. "They want to impose Islamic law and create an Islamic state in Syria as the nun 60 years, said that the West has ignored growing evidence of the rise of Islamic terrorism which form the Free Syrian Army.

Their ABC describes Muslim Savages attacks on Coptic Christians as "Religious tensions"

Dead Muslim Yusuf Toprakkaya, Desecrates Australia's name ... at least he is dead

The BEASTS who live amongst us

Syrian rebels eulogise Aussie 'martyr'

BY: DAN BOX AND PIA AKERMAN 
The Australian 
January 02, 2013 12:00AM

AN Australian man killed while fighting in Syria's bloody civil war is being hailed as a martyr in online tributes posted by rebel forces, which show him posing with weapons and building home made bombs.

The man's name and date of birth correspond with that given for one person in a secret 2010 cable sent by the US embassy in Canberra, detailing people to be added to the US government's Terrorist Screening Database. However, his family deny he was a member of any extremist group.

Travelling under the name Abu al-Walid al-Australi, the former Melbourne bricklayer is shown in tributes to be a fighter with the anti-government Syrian militia. Two other Australians, from Sydney and from Melbourne, were killed last year after entering Syria to take part in what their families described as humanitarian work.

Security agencies believe that more than 100 Australians have joined the Syrian civil war, amid fears the experience could provide potential extremists with combat skills and training.

Abu al-Walid's real name is Yusuf Toprakkaya, a 30-year-old Turkish-Australian whose parents and wife still live in Melbourne's northern suburb of Broadmeadows, although his wife is understood to have supported him going to Syria.

A 2010 US government cable, released by WikiLeaks, requested that a Turkish-Australian called "Yousef Topprakaya" be placed on the "SELECTEE list", of the Terrorist Screening Database as he had "demonstrated connections" with a former Yemeni al-Qaida leader, Anwar al-Awlaki.

Twenty-three Australians are named in the US embassy cable, which said the names were provided by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Anyone placed on the 'SELECTEE list' should be automatically selected for enhanced screening for US flights.

An online tribute posted by the al-Farouk Brigades, part of the Free Syria Army, said Mr Toprakkaya had been killed by a sniper during a battle at the Wadi al-Dayf military base on December 30.

"The martyr Abu al-Walid al-Australi . . . whenever we went on any battle I would see him on the front lines," this tribute said.

"(He) left Australia and left behind his parents, and he's their only son, and he left his wife and job. And he headed for Syria a mujahed for the cause of Allah."

The short film shows Mr Toprakkaya as one of a group of bearded fighters, posing with heavy weapons and squatting on the ground while he primed the detonators of homemade bombs.

"Abu al-Walid received today what he asked for . . . His body received the bullet as he was advancing, not retreating," the text accompanying this film reads.

Online reports posted by pro-government agencies in Syria suggested Mr Toprakkaya was a member of the al-Nusra Front, an extremist group linked to al-Qa'ida, which is also fighting as part of the Free Syria Army.

Friends of Mr Toprakkaya denied this connection, however, and the claims made in this video have not been supported elsewhere.

Mr Toprakkaya's sisters, who declined to be named, said yesterday he had gone to Syria to provide humanitarian assistance. "He didn't want to be a bystander to all the atrocity that was happening," one said.

"He paid the ultimate price for being a nice person, for helping out and not just sitting and watching what was happening. He wouldn't harm a thing. Animals would follow him home from the shopping centre -- he had so much love to give."

The Syrian civil war has already seen thousands of foreigners cross the country's porous borders to join the fighting between the country's Sunni majority and the minority Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad.

A number of Islamic organisations in Australia are sending money to Syria, ostensibly to support humanitarian work, although security agencies believe some of this money may flow to rebel forces.

A delegation of leading Australian Muslims, including the Grand Mufti, Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, yesterday visited a refugee camp in neighbouring Jordan.

What makes the "Mufti of Sydney's Occupied Territories and his fellow insurgents "feel like we are on cloud nine" ?

He's such a Good Boy he neva do nutting to no body

Mother's grief after Yusuf Toprakkaya's death in Syria battle

Stephen Drill

Herald Sun

January 03, 201312:00AM

THE mother of an Australian killed fighting with rebel forces in Syria says he was not a terrorist despite being put on a US watch list.

Muazez Toprakkaya told the Herald Sun at her Broadmeadows home her son Yusuf was only trying to help the Syrian people.

"My son is very sweet. He was there just to help, to help the children. (Syrian leader Bashar al-) Assad is very bad, he has killed all those people, why?" she said.

When asked whether her son was involved with terrorists, Mrs Toprakkaya said: "No, my son is very good, my son is not like that."

Mr Toprakkaya, 30, was killed by a sniper in a battle for the Wadi al-Dayf military base on December 30.

His sisters said in a statement their brother was a kind-hearted person.

"He was in Syria for this same reason - to help the innocent people who were being oppressed," they said.

"His last sentiments were that if (his) family was in the same situation he would want someone to defend and protect them."

Neighbours were delivering food to the family home yesterday as relatives gathered to mourn his death.

The family is of Turkish background and are Sunni Muslims, a group that is in conflict with al-Assad who is from the Alawite group.

Mr Toprakkaya had been in Syria for at least six months, his mother said.

A YouTube tribute for Mr Toprakkaya described him as Abu al-Walid, "who died a martyr". He can also be seen making a crude bomb in the YouTube clip, posted by the al-Farouk Brigades in the past week.

"Abu al-Walid left Australia and left behind his parents, and he's their only son, and he left his wife and job," the tribute said.

"He rose to be martyred by the snipers of the Assad gangs in the Solid Built battle to liberate Wadi al-Dayf.

"His body received the bullet as he was advancing, not retreating."

The Australian reported Mr Toprakkaya was on a US terrorist screening database.

What do Obama's "Freedom Fighters" and "Peace Partners" do with Christians when their Dogs are Hungry ?

Syria rebels 'beheaded a Christian and fed him to the dogs' as fears grow over Islamist atrocities.

Christian Andrei Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped and beheaded by rebel fighters in northern town of Ras Al-Ayn on the Turkish border
News came as pro-government forces celebrated their victory against rebels near Aleppo Airport
By NICK FAGGE
Daily Mail
31 December 2012 | 
Syrian rebels beheaded a Christian man and fed his body to dogs, according to a nun who says the West is ignoring atrocities committed by Islamic extremists.

The nun said taxi driver Andrei Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped after his brother was heard complaining that fighters against the ruling regime behaved like bandits.

She said his headless corpse was found by the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs. He had recently married and was soon to be a father.

Sister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix said: ‘His only crime was his brother criticised the rebels, accused them of acting like bandits, which is what they are.’
There have been a growing number of accounts of atrocities carried out by rogue elements of the Syrian Free Army, which opposes dictator Bashar al-Assad and is recognised by Britain and the West as the legitimate leadership.
Sister Agnes-Miriam, mother superior of the Monastery of St James the Mutilated, has condemned Britain and the west for supporting the rebels despite growing evidence of human rights abuses. Murder, kidnapping, rape and robbery are becoming commonplace, she says.
‘The free and democratic world is supporting extremists,’ Sister Agnes-Miriam said from her sanctuary in Lebanon. ‘They want to impose Sharia Law and create an Islamic state in Syria.’

The 60-year-old Carmelite nun claims the west has turned a blind eye to growing evidence of a ‘fifth column’ of fanatics within the rag-tag ranks that make up the Free Syrian Army that they back to oust Assad.
One of the most effective fighting forces is the Jabat Al-Nusra, which has an ideology similar to Al Qaeda.
‘The uprising has been hijacked by Islamist mercenaries who are more interested in fighting a holy war than in changing the government,’ she said.
‘It has turned into a sectarian conflict. One in which Christians are paying a high price.’
The rebel attacked the northern town of Ras Al-Ayn, on the Turkish border, last month. The fighters entered the Christian quarter, ordering civilians to leave and leaving their homes.
‘More than 200 families were driven out in the night,’ Sister Agnes-Miriam says. ‘People are afraid. Everywhere the deaths squads stop civilians, abduct them and ask for ransom, sometimes they kill them.

Militants wearing black bandanas of Al Qaeda recently laid siege to the Monastery of St James the Mutilated, located between Damascus and Homs, for two days in an attempt to prevent Christmas celebrations, the nun claims.

An estimated 300,000 Christians have been displaced in the conflict, with 80,000 forced out of the Homs region alone, she claims.
Many have fled abroad raising fears that Syria’s Christian community may vanish - like others across Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity.
Al Assad, a member of the Alawite Muslim sect, claims only his regime can protect Syria’s minorities from domination from the Sunni Muslims majority.
Meanwhile the fighting continues to rage with government forces retaking control of a key district in the city of Homs yesterday.
The latest violence comes after United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned of ‘hell’ for Syria if no political solution could be found.
Russia has stated the conflict is becoming increasingly militarised and sectarian and risks bringing chaos to the whole region.
Some 44,000 people have been killed since the uprising against the Al Assad regime began in March 2011.

Syria via a hole in a Turkish border fence