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Time in Yerevan: 11:07,   29 March 2024

Hundreds gather outside Turkish Consulate to protest devastation in Syria's Kassab

Hundreds gather outside Turkish Consulate to protest devastation in Syria's Kassab

 

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS: Hundreds of protesters attended a rally in Toronto on Thursday to voice concerns over Turkey's role in the destruction of the ancient Armenian village of Kassab in Syria, whose residents have fled after rebels seized control. The Armenian Youth Federation of Canada (AYF Canada) said more than 600 people were at the demonstration. The group organized the protest in front of the Consulate of Turkey, demanding Turkey stop facilitating attacks by extremist foreign fighters. Turkish officials refute claims that Turkey is providing support to opposition forces. Armenpress reports that the Toronto News informed about it.

On Thursday, protesters spilled across the sidewalk in front of the building at Lower Spadina Avenue and Queens Quay West, holding cardboard signs with slogans such as "Stop aiding terrorists" and "Hands off Syria." Harout Kassabian, AYF Canada Central Executive member, said Turkey's actions are "unacceptable" in a statement the group released Thursday. “Turkey, a member of NATO, has and continues to aid and abet extremist terrorist organizations. The official al Qaeda organization of Syria has freely entered the country through the Turkish border," Kassabian said.

The group is calling on the international community to intervene, to keep Christian and other ethnic minorities from being persecuted. Ethnic Armenians account for about 70 per cent of Kassab’s population.

"As a Christian, it angers me to know that a group of people can lead 3,000 innocent civilians out of their homes," Roubina Sarkissian, whose parents were born in Kessab, wrote in a statement.

Sarkissian's relatives living in Kessab were deported last week. She said that Armenians will not stay silent as Turkey facilitates the destruction of Kessab in her speech.

Located near the border with Turkey, the predominantly Armenian town had avoided major battles until recently, AYF Canada wrote in a statement.

For decades, the town had served as a safe-haven for Armenians fleeing from the war-torn Syrian cities of Yacubiye, Raqqa and Aleppo.

On March 23, an attack was launched in Kassab, forcing residents to flee to nearby Latakia and Bassit. Attacks resulted in the looting and desecration of residences and churches in the area, the statement said.

Armenians held posters and sounded different calls. As in front of the Consulate the local Turkish as well were gathering gradually, the Toronto police implemented security actions to prevent the possible clashes. The rally ended without accidents.
It was reported that like every year on April 24, this year as well the Armenians will hold a protest action in front of the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa.

 




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