A Christian town in Syria keeps the biblical language of Aramaic alive. But it fears for its future
Town’s residents have asked the country’s new leaders for protection after incidents of looting and harassment.
The scars of an extremist-linked attack over a decade ago remain
Updated 28 February 2025
AP
MAALOULA: Church bells echoed across the rocky slopes of this ancient Syrian town on a cold Sunday morning. But few families remained.
Maaloula is one of the world’s few places where residents still speak Aramaic, the language that Jesus is believed to have used. The town is also home to Syria’s two oldest active monasteries. But since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in an insurgent offensive late last year, some residents fear their future is precarious.
After a few dozen people attended Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint George, some residents sat in its courtyard and spoke of looting and harassment that they believe were targeted at their religious minority.
Father Jalal Ghazal said he woke one morning in January to a loud sound and ran outside to find streams of red liquid. He immediately feared the kind of targeted killing that occurred during the country’s 13-year civil war.
Instead, he discovered that some people had broken into apartments where clergy lived, vandalized them and threw bags of wine bottles from a balcony.
Many Christians in Syria felt they were collectively accused during the long conflict of siding with Assad, who came from the small Alawite sect and portrayed himself as the protector of minorities.
Residents of Christian-majority Maaloula, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Damascus, sent a letter last month to Syria’s new Islamist government under former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who has promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities.
“We want the guaranteed safe return of the Christians of Maaloula,” it read. “Maaloula is a red line. We will not let anyone encroach on its culture, heritage and sanctities.”
Nothing has changed since then, and the clergy of Maaloula hope for a chance to speak with authorities.
Maaloula still bears the scars of war. What it went through over a decade ago made global headlines and cast a light on Syria’s minorities at a time when anti-government rebels largely became more extremist.
In September 2013, rebels including Al-Qaeda-linked extremists took over the town. About two-thirds of Maaloula’s estimated 3,300 residents fled while fighters abducted 12 nuns.
The nuns were later freed for ransom, and Assad’s forces took back the town, banishing some Muslim residents who were accused of supporting armed opposition groups.
But since Assad’s fall, Maaloula’s Christians said some of those people have returned and carried out acts of vengeance including looting and vandalism. No one has been arrested.
Christians say they have lived in peace with local Muslims and that the perpetrators are unfairly targeting them for what Assad did.
“There are no guarantees,” the priest, Ghazal, said. “What we have to do is to try to reduce these incidents from happening.”
No police officers have been seen in the town recently. All the weapons and munitions in Maaloula’s police station were looted in the celebratory chaos following Assad’s fall.
Sameera Thabet was among many residents who fled that night to Damascus. “We were living in fear, wondering if we were going to get slaughtered again,” she said. “But the next day, we came back after we heard that our houses were being looted.”
Already, the war had left bullet holes in religious symbols and artifacts. Paintings and mosaics of Jesus and other Christian figures had been damaged and defaced.
Now residents and clergymen hope that Syria’s new leaders will protect them and their efforts to pass down Christian tradition and the Aramaic language. Many people who had fled the town have not returned.
Maaloula’s church officials have asked Al-Sharaa’s government for more security. In late December, some security forces came from the capital during the Christmas holiday to protect the Christians who decorated homes and lit a tree in the town square.
“They didn’t stay long. They came for two or three days then left,” a dejected-looking Ghazal said. “But our voices were heard.”
On a summit overlooking the town, Father Fadi Bargeel of the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus lit a candle before examining the long-damaged ruins.
The church overlooks the abandoned remains of a luxury hotel that became a de facto military base for armed rebels.
Bargeel said he’s trying to look to the future. He wants to encourage more people, especially children, to learn Aramaic or become more fluent.
“The moment a child is a born, the Aramaic language would be spoken at home.” he said. “When we started going to school as children, we didn’t know Arabic.” Now the language is mainly taught at home and is spoken more widely by older generations.
Though the town is largely empty, remaining residents try to carry on.
The Christmas tree still stood in the square. A few children fed stray dogs and cats loitering by a bakery.
Thabet said she trusts in God that their fate will be better. Unlike some residents, she has faith that Syria’s new leaders will make the country a civil state that’s inclusive of her and other Christians.
“God who put us on this land will protect us,” she said.
Sultan of Oman reaffirms ties during visit to Algeria
The Omani leader is on a two-day visit to Algeria
The delegation includes foreign and defense ministers
Updated 04 May 2025
Arab News
LONDON: The Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarik met Algerian President Abdelamdjid Tebboune on Sunday to discuss ties between their nations.
At the sultan's residence in the capital, Algiers, the leaders affirmed their commitment to enhancing relations to serve their countries' mutual interests, the Oman News Agency reported.
The Omani leader is on a two-day visit to Algeria. On Sunday, Tebboune received him at Houari Boumediene International Airport for an official reception.
Several ministers and officials are in the Omani delegation, including Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al-Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs, and Sayyid Badr Hamad Al-Busaidi, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Can Iraq’s Development Road project become its gateway to prosperity?
Once a hub of global trade, Iraq aims to reclaim role with a $20 billion project connecting the Gulf to Europe by road, rail, and pipeline
Experts say ambitious infrastructure project could prove transformative if it can overcome the political, logistical and financial hurdles
Updated 29 sec ago
Jonathan Lessware
LONDON: Under the Abbasid Caliphate, some 1,200 years ago, Baghdad sat at a crossroads between continents, a global confluence of commerce, culture and learning, becoming one of the most important cities on the Silk Road — the vast trade network that linked Asia to Europe.
It is that same strategic positioning that the modern-day government of Iraq hopes to recreate through a mega-project that could transform the nation’s fortunes after decades of war, sanctions and underdevelopment, and in the process reshape international trade.
The Development Road scheme aims to connect the Arabian Gulf to the Mediterranean with a 1,200 km network of roads, railways and energy links from across Iraq to neighboring Turkiye.
The project is expected to cost up to $20 billion and will be constructed in partnership with Turkiye and with backing from Qatar as well as the UAE.
Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, UAE's Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Qatar's Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed al-Sulaiti, and Iraq's Transport Minister Razzaq Muhaibas Al-Saadawi applaud together during their meeting for the signing of the "Development Road" framework agreement on security, economy, and development in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.
If successful, it could carve out a new future for Iraq, diversifying its economy and raising substantial revenues. It would help export the country’s plentiful energy resources, while also consolidating relations with Turkiye and the Gulf states.
But the project faces several challenges, both within Iraq and the wider region. Corruption, interstate rivalries, political instability and conflict could derail the scheme, as could competition from other trade corridors in the region.
Failure would raise uncomfortable questions about whether Iraq can ever move beyond its chaotic past to build the kind of country its people desperately seek.
“The Development Road project is one of the most important infrastructure projects initiated in Iraq since the formation of the modern Iraqi state in the 1920s,” Mohammed Hussein, a member of the Iraqi Economists Network, told Arab News.
Volunteers of the "army of Al-Quds (Jerusalem)", with pictures of their president Saddam Hussein on their chests during a military parade in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on February 4, 2003. (AFP)
The idea for a new trade corridor through Iraq has been around for decades. In the 1980s, the concept was branded the “dry canal” — tipped as an alternative to the Suez in Egypt. But wars and sanctions on Saddam Hussein’s regime prevented any progress.
In response to public outrage over Iraq’s continued economic malaise — especially given the size of its oil reserves — the concept has since re-emerged as part of a broader development agenda, helped along by a period of relative stability and improving relations with Turkiye.
The Development Road was launched in 2023 after a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (C-R) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C-L) attend the signing of the "Development Road" framework agreement on security, economy, and development in Baghdad on April 22, 2024. (AFP)
Central to the plan is the Grand Faw Port now under construction on Iraq’s slither of shallow coastline at the head of the Arabian Gulf. When completed, Iraqi officials say the port will have 100 berths, surpassing Jebel Ali in Dubai as the Middle East’s largest container port.
Grand Faw will connect to a network of highways and railways running through major Iraqi cities including Basra, Karbala, Baghdad and Mosul, all the way to the Turkish border at Faysh Khabur.
From there, they will connect to Turkiye’s networks, linking up with its major Mediterranean ports and its land border with Europe. Oil and gas pipelines are also planned to follow the route, linking Basra’s oil fields to Turkiye’s Ceyhan energy hub.
An Iraqi sails in the Shatt al-Arab river across from the Nahr Bin Omar oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra on July 18, 2022. (AFP)
The scheme, which will be built in three stages up to 2050, would see industrial areas constructed along its route. However, much of the project still remains in the planning phase.
In April last year, Turkiye, Iraq, the UAE and Qatar signed a joint cooperation agreement on the project during a long-awaited visit by Erdogan to Baghdad.
“The project aims to create a sustainable economy bridging east and west,” Al-Sudani’s office said, adding that it would “establish a new competitive transport route, and bolster regional economic prosperity.”
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. (AFP)
A planned visit by the Iraqi prime minister to Turkiye on May 8 is expected to advance the plan further.
If successful, the project would bring numerous benefits to Iraq, diversifying its economy away from oil and gas and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. According to Hussein of the Iraqi Economists Network, the project could generate $4 billion per year in customs revenues.
“The Development Road is likely to enhance Iraq’s role in global trade and directly revitalize its non-oil economic sectors such as trade, transportation and tourism,” he said.
IN NUMBERS:
• 99% Oil’s share of Iraq’s exports over the past decade.
• $20 billion Estimated cost of Development Road project.
(Sources: World Bank & media)
There would also be a major boost to Iraq’s strategic positioning, strengthening economic and security relations with Turkiye, the Gulf states and Europe.
“From a global perspective, the Development Road is extremely important for Iraq, as it positions the country as a land bridge between Asia and Europe,” said Hussein.
“It aims to serve as a new route for global trade from the Arab Gulf to Europe, transforming Iraq into a transit hub similar to the Suez Canal.”
Iraq's planned Development Road is envisioned to position the country as a land bridge between Asia and Europe. (Map Courtesy of Google)
Renad Mansour, a senior Iraq research fellow at Chatham House, believes the project represents a clear statement of Iraq’s ambition to put decades of chaos behind it and become a more influential power in the region.
The government sees the project “as an opportunity for Iraq, after years of conflict and dependencies, to start to regain some traction in the region by becoming an important central hub,” he told Arab News.
Iraq’s geographic position would become a “potential point of leverage” that could rebuild its regional position, he added.
Street vendors push their cart selling sweets across Al-Senak bridge over the Tigris river in central Baghdad during a dust storm on April 10, 2025. (AFP)
The Development Road also offers substantial benefits to Turkiye.
Ankara “views this project as a strategic opportunity to boost its regional role, enhance its trade ties with regional actors and solidify the economic connectivity in the region,” Sinem Cengiz, a Turkish political analyst, told Arab News.
It also marks a sea change in Turkiye-Iraq relations, which have long been dominated by border security, Turkiye’s conflict with Kurdish militants and control of water resources.
“From the Turkish side, it is an opportunity to transform its relations with Iraq from a security-oriented perspective to an economically integrated relationship,” said Cengiz.
“This project provides a framework for long-term mutual dependency and a rare chance for Turkiye and Iraq to compartmentalize, and institutionalize their relations.”
There are, however, an array of challenges and potential obstacles that could delay or scuttle the project altogether.
The biggest risks come from within Iraq itself. Since the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq has experienced a devastating civil war, a savage conflict with Daesh extremists and the emergence of powerful Iran-backed militias.
An image uploaded on June 14, 2014 on the jihadist website Welayat Salahuddin Daesh (ISIS) militants leading dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them. (AFP)
“The Iraqi state remains fragmented and corruption is still a big challenge,” said Mansour. “There’s all sorts of challenges, political and security-wise, that would need to be addressed to ensure the sustainability of such a grand vision.”
The country still ranks poorly on Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index, although there has been gradual improvement since 2015. This, along with other bureaucratic obstacles, means ensuring efficient project management is a significant concern.
“Iraq’s reputation for corruption, weak law enforcement, bureaucratic inefficiency, and an underdeveloped business environment will certainly increase the project’s cost and duration,” said Hussein.
The nature of the project means it will have to be built through many regions of the country, each with its own ethnic, religious and political mix.
“The road will go through several different territories where the central government doesn’t have as much authority and you have different armed groups and different sides who would need to be part of this process or could turn into spoilers,” said Mansour.
The route avoids most of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in the north, apart from the last 20 km where it reaches the border with Turkiye, potentially creating new rifts with the country’s large Kurdish minority.
An Iraqi sails in the Shatt al-Arab river across from the Nahr Bin Omar oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra on July 18, 2022. (AFP)
The Kurdistan Regional Government has accused the federal government of deliberately bypassing the territory and excluding Kurdish areas that would otherwise have benefited from the scheme, said Hussein.
“The project has raised concerns among KRG leaders, who are demanding it be designed to pass through at least two of the KRG provinces, Irbil and Duhok,” he said.
The federal government, however, denies the KRG’s claim, insisting the current route is based on cost-efficiency.
There are also major external challenges to the project.
Grand Faw Port is located just a few kilometers from Kuwait’s long-proposed Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, which is also under construction. The projects have exacerbated a long-running dispute over the maritime border between the two states and raised tensions over competition between the two ports.
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani gives a speech during the ceremony of the beginning of the handover of the Grand Faw Port's five berths from the implementing Korean company, in the southern Basra province, on November 7, 2024, as the project approaches full completion. (AFP)
“To prevent tensions and avoid creating a sense of insecurity, Kuwait must be somehow integrated into the process,” said Cengiz. “This would make the project more regionalized and help build a more stable environment for cooperation.”
Iran, which has huge influence in Iraq, particularly through the militias it funds, is also watching the scheme warily. Some argue the corridor could benefit Iran, but could also pose significant competition to its Gulf ports and plans for its own trade route linking Asia to Europe.
Then there is the rivalry with existing trade routes, most notably the Suez Canal, which is vital to Egypt’s economy. Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis have dramatically reduced shipping through the waterway, increasing the cost of transporting goods from Asia to Europe.
Iraqi officials claim the Development Road will offer a much faster route from Asia to Europe than the Suez, even without the current shipping disruption.
Another major corridor through the Middle East is also being developed between India, the Gulf states, and Europe, and was set to include Israel and Jordan. Known as the “India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” or IMEC, the project has won the backing of the US. However, the war in Gaza has presented challenges.
Map of the planned IMEC connection. (Wikimedia Commons: ecfr.eu)
IMEC was viewed by some as a response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative — the vast set of infrastructure projects launched in 2013 to create land and maritime networks between Asia and Europe.
China has not yet committed to providing financial backing to the Development Road but has hinted that the project could be integrated into its BRI, raising a possible point of contention with the US.
Despite these many challenges, there is widespread support within Iraq for the project. If successful, the Development Road could become a beacon of hope for a nation emerging from a long night.
Pope Francis’s popemobile set to become health clinic for Gaza children
Vehicle, used by the late pontiff during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land, is being outfitted with diagnostic and emergency medical equipment to help patients in Gaza
Francis had a number of popemobiles, with the one used in the 2014 visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories staying in the region following his return to the Vatican
Updated 04 May 2025
Reuters
VATICAN CITY: One of Pope Francis’s popemobiles is being transformed into a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip, fulfilling one of his final wishes, the Vatican’s official media outlet said on Sunday.
The vehicle, used by the late pontiff during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land, is being outfitted with diagnostic and emergency medical equipment to help young patients in the Palestinian enclave, where health services have been devastated by the Israeli invasion.
Pope Francis, who died last month, entrusted the initiative to the Catholic aid organization Caritas Jerusalem in the months before his death, Vatican News said.
“This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, which is supporting the project, told Vatican News.
The mobile unit will be equipped with rapid infection tests, vaccines, diagnostic tools, and suture kits, and staffed by medical personnel. Caritas plans to deploy the clinic to communities without access to functioning health care facilities once humanitarian access to Gaza is feasible.
“It’s not just a vehicle,” Brune added. “It’s a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza.”
Gaza has a tiny Christian community and the Vatican has said Francis used to call the Holy Family Church in Gaza on an almost daily basis for much of the war, which started in October 2023 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel.
Francis had a number of popemobiles, with the one used in the 2014 visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories staying in the region following his return to the Vatican.
A conclave to elect a new pope starts on May 7.
Lebanon holds first local elections in almost 10 years
President Aoun pins national hopes on municipal revival
PM Salam appeals for a big turnout, with security forces placed on full alert
Updated 04 May 2025
NAJIA HOUSSARI
BEIRUT: The first municipal elections in Lebanon began on Sunday after a more than nine-year hiatus.
Voting is taking place by region, with the first round in the Mount Lebanon districts, including Beirut’s southern suburbs.
According to the Interior Ministry, 9,321 candidates, including 1,179 women, are running in Mount Lebanon, vying for seats on 333 municipal councils.
Voter turnout exceeded 35 percent less than three hours before the polls closed at 7 p.m. local time.
President Joseph Aoun highlighted the vote’s significance in restoring confidence among the Lebanese people and international community, demonstrating that Lebanon is rebuilding its institutions and is on the right path.
The polls are the first of his presidential term and are seen as an indicator of voting trends ahead of parliamentary elections in May 2026.
Parts of northern Lebanon will vote next Sunday, May 11, while Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley are scheduled to go to the polls on May 18. Voters in the southern regions, severely damaged following clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, will cast their ballots on May 24.
Lebanon’s presidential vacuum and security developments since October 2023 have affected the civic election process for almost a decade. Authorities last conducted a local ballot in 2016.
Polling stations opened in Mount Lebanon, the first governorate to begin the elections, under the personal supervision of Aoun.
After two visits to the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior in the morning, Aoun said he had “full confidence in the success of this constitutional entitlement.”
He said: “What we are witnessing today in Mount Lebanon will motivate the other governorates.
“The goal is to revive municipalities as a prelude to reviving the entire nation.”
Aoun also urged voters not to let sectarian, “partisan or financial factors” impact their vote.
On the eve of the elections, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took to social media to send a message to voters urging them to vote in large numbers.
He described the election as a crucial step toward executing the expanded decentralization mandated by the Taif Agreement, which faced delays for over 35 years and was vital for the growth of municipalities.
Sunday’s elections varied in intensity by district, especially in areas with party and family rivalries. Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement, and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party aimed to retain control of municipalities against challenges from the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, and civil society activists.
Supporters from various parties and political factions hurried to include their candidates on most competing lists. This led voters, like one from the Harb family in Beirut’s southern suburb, to suggest “these elections are a crucial political battle, not a competition focused on development.”
Many dynamics have changed since 2016 regarding political and party balances and the map of alliances in Lebanon.
The elections took place in the districts of Metn, Keserwan, Jbeil, Chouf, Aley, and Baabda, which include the southern suburb of Beirut, with security provided by the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces.
Commando regiments and marine commando reserves were placed on full alert.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has reached out to families in towns within the southern suburbs of Beirut to create lists that would be appointed unanimously and include supporters from those families. It succeeded in some areas and failed in others.
The southern suburbs of Beirut, along with the southern and Bekaa governorates, will hold elections later and reflect the level of public support for Hezbollah through the lists endorsed by the party.
The towns of Haret Hreik and Ghobeiry engaged in an electoral battle between closed lists of Hezbollah candidates and incomplete lists of families and young activists.
The electoral process in Mount Lebanon experienced some disorder at polling stations.
The central operations room for municipal elections at the Ministry of Interior reported receiving numerous complaints from various regions involving administrative violations, breaches of electoral law, security issues, conflicts among competitors, and instances of electoral bribery.
The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections reported several violations, including “the failure of voters to use privacy screens and the presence of roaming representatives accompanying voters into polling stations with the intent to influence their electoral decisions.”
There was a noticeable shift in this election toward campaigning through smartphones, which promoted candidates and facilitated communication with voters.
The presence of candidate posters and banners in streets and neighborhoods has decreased, replaced by social media reels, stories, and closed groups.
The municipalities of Burj Al-Barajneh, Tahwitat Al-Ghadir-Laylaki, and Chiyah were contested unopposed.
Syria to import electricity from Turkiye, rehabilitate Kilis-Aleppo natural gas pipeline
Energy Minister discussed with the Turkish side the possibility of mining Syria’s earth minerals
Government developing new 80-megawatt transmission line between Turkiye’s Reyhanli district and Syria’s Harem region
Updated 04 May 2025
Arab News
LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic will import electricity from Turkiye and rehabilitate a natural gas pipeline connecting two border regions, the country’s energy minister said on Sunday.
Mohammed Al-Bashir stated that Damascus is finalizing an agreement to import electricity from Turkiye via a 400-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line that links the two countries.
Al-Bashir stated that the government is developing another 80-megawatt transmission line between Turkiye’s Reyhanli district and Syria’s Harem region to supply electricity to towns in northern Syria.
“Additionally, we are working to rehabilitate the natural gas pipeline connecting Kilis and Aleppo,” two cities in southern Turkiye and northern Syria, the minister added.
“Once operational, (the pipeline) could supply 6 million cubic meters of gas per day to Syria’s power generation stations, significantly improving our energy situation,” he added in a statement to the SANA news agency.
The minister said he discussed with the Turkish side the possibility of mining Syria’s mineral deposits, such as phosphate and lithium, and the prospect of exploring natural gas in the country’s national waters. He urged Turkish companies to invest in exploring Syria’s oil and natural gas potential, upgrading power lines and plants, and rebuilding refineries and transportation systems.
