ALEPPO, Syria (Tert.am, PanArmenian.net) — Two Syrian-Armenians have been killed in Damascus and Aleppo in recent days as a result of clashes between Syria’s governmental forces and rebels.
A 76-year-old woman, Adelina Khacheryan, was shot dead accidentally on August 17, while on August 18, a 38- year-old Armenian was killed in Damascus.
A spokesman for the Diocese of the Armenian Church there, Zhirayr Reyisian, said their deaths were not a result of targeted activities against the Armenian community.
“I am not aware of the details of the Damascus incident, but yesterday’s incident that killed an Armenian woman was the result of occasional shooting,” Reyisian said.
He said a young Armenian has been wounded as a result of blast in Aleppo.
Representative of the Armenian community of Aleppo said the situation during recent days has not changed and the conflict continues in the same way though the governmental forces have managed to take control of certain neighborhoods, but the fighting still continues.
“In spite of the problems with Internet and phone communications, the situation in Aleppo has comparatively improved,” Reyisian said. He said though the clashes are far from Armenian districts sometimes the fights occur there as well.
On August 16, Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, met with the representatives of the new regional department of Armenian Relief Cross in Lebanon. He was briefed on the organization’s further programs, with scholarship for Armenian college students, aid to vulnerable families and to the elderly among priorities. The catholicos praised the humanitarian assistance extended by Armenian Red Cross, stressing the importance of offering support to Syrian Armenians.
Meanwhile, the Armenian national carrier, Armavia, continues operating regular and extra flights to Syria. The company carried out the second Yerevan-Aleppo-Yerevan extra flight on Wednesday. Five people left for Syria, while 104 arrived in Armenia. An additional 90 persons arrived by the regular Aleppo-Yerevan flight on Monday, Armavia reports.
Armavia, with help from the Armenian government, operates special flights for children. Armenian children are coming from Aleppo to spend their [holiday].
