Syria: - Archbishop says anti-Assad militias are demanding road tolls

tank outside Syrian church

A Syrian Archbishop said yesterday that that rebel groups have begun demanding high road tolls in Damascus and Aleppo to fund their military activities. Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, from the Syrian Catholic archeparchy in Hassaké-Nisibis, said: "The militias of the Free Syrian Army and jahidist groups make all vehicles coming from the areas of Damascus and Aleppo carrying goods pay heavy tolls. They say that the money is used to buy weapons, they are like 'bribes for the revolution'. This is why now the prices of food in our cities and villages are almost tenfold."

In the region - which includes the towns of Hassaké and Kamishly - military confrontation between the government army and anti-Assad militias has reached a deadlock. But the surrounding areas are controlled by opposition groups, and the roads leading to Aleppo and Damascus are interrupted.

Archbishop Hindo said: "At the moment, even here the scourge of kidnapping is what causes major suffering for many families. In recent months between Hassaké and Kamishly there have been more than one hundred kidnappings. At one point I myself stopped keeping count. Many of the hostages are still in the hands of the kidnappers."

Despite all this, the Archbishop said he still hopes a political solution may be reached. He said: I hope that with time a compromise will be found. A solution can only come if international agents, starting from the United States and Russia, will be able to put in brackets the respective interests and take account of the expectations and real suffering experienced by our people."

Source: Fides