Places of worship also damaged by Assad

Places of worship are also among the destructed as a result of the civil war in Syria. A church in the Derkush town of Syria's Idlib province was used as shelter by Assad forces for a certain period. The church was transformed into a place in which portraits of Virgin Mary were ripped apart and statues of Jesus were damaged. Empty shell casings found in the yard of the church taken over by the Free Syrian Army show the intensity of the clashes. Christian children said that the priest fled the village following the incidents and residents of the village were unable to leave their houses as they feared their lives. Mustafa Araby, one of the commanders of the Free Syrian Army, stated that Christians and Muslims have lived in peace and Assad attempted to eradicate this friendship. "We have lived in peace without hurting each other for many years. They tried to segregate us as Christian and Sunnis. Just because the priest gave us bread and water when the civil war broke out, Assad destructed their church. We want the war to end, people to live and to return to their homes," Araby noted.