"
Maaloula , city of culture and history , you are welcome ," says a sign
at the entrance of the most famous Christian community of Syria. But inside , snipers opened fire on targets in the deserted streets , where a team of AFP escaped the bullets of the rebels.
In this ghost town , military fighting an invisible enemy .
" We can not see but we hear the snap of his bullets with Dragunov " favorite snipers rifle accuracy Russian says a soldier crouched behind a wall, gun in hand.
A car stopped on the side of the road , the windshield exploded. The driver is probably dead , his business lying on the pavement.
While the AFP photographer had just crossed the street, the reporter who followed him was fired . He had to lie behind a wall on the embankment of the road to escape the sniper .
As soon as he tried to move the shooter was firing immediately. It took the soldiers fired in his direction so that the journalist can escape into a courtyard between two houses.
An armored vehicle then came to light and allow the team to leave. "It's every day and it is only in the evening where we can move us without fear of fire ," said the soldier.
" We have taken a large part of the city but the terrorists prevent us from fully control because of their snipers ," said a colonel who heads the operations on the ground.
"We continue to move slowly but it is very difficult because we can not bomb because of the historical treasures it contains ," he adds .
The rebels, including jihadists linked to al - Qaeda took control of the city on September 9. Three days later , the Syrian army entered Maaloula for hunting.
Maaloula , with a population of up to 5,000 people, is predominantly Christian summer when hundreds of Christians in Damascus and abroad come to stay . But winter , Muslims are the most numerous.
This town located 55 km north of Damascus is famous for its cave shelters dating from the first centuries of Christianity. The majority of its inhabitants are Christians and Greek Catholics speak Aramaic , the language of Christ. The name of the city comes from Maala , which means entry into the language.
The town is famous in the Middle East for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14. This year, for the first time, the hills were not lit bonfires and locals and visitors , Christians and Muslims have not moved for large dinners and religious ceremonies.
If the arch at the entrance to the town is very damaged due to the explosion of a car bomb driven by a suicide bomber against an army checkpoint , which killed eight people , the town does not carry the stigma the war because of the refusal of the army to use artillery. Only the dome of the Church of St. Elijah is perforated.
" This war may be long because they hide in the mountains and in a hotel on the top , but I think that eventually we will prevail ," said the colonel of the Syrian army .
In this ghost town , military fighting an invisible enemy .
" We can not see but we hear the snap of his bullets with Dragunov " favorite snipers rifle accuracy Russian says a soldier crouched behind a wall, gun in hand.
A car stopped on the side of the road , the windshield exploded. The driver is probably dead , his business lying on the pavement.
While the AFP photographer had just crossed the street, the reporter who followed him was fired . He had to lie behind a wall on the embankment of the road to escape the sniper .
As soon as he tried to move the shooter was firing immediately. It took the soldiers fired in his direction so that the journalist can escape into a courtyard between two houses.
An armored vehicle then came to light and allow the team to leave. "It's every day and it is only in the evening where we can move us without fear of fire ," said the soldier.
" We have taken a large part of the city but the terrorists prevent us from fully control because of their snipers ," said a colonel who heads the operations on the ground.
"We continue to move slowly but it is very difficult because we can not bomb because of the historical treasures it contains ," he adds .
The rebels, including jihadists linked to al - Qaeda took control of the city on September 9. Three days later , the Syrian army entered Maaloula for hunting.
Maaloula , with a population of up to 5,000 people, is predominantly Christian summer when hundreds of Christians in Damascus and abroad come to stay . But winter , Muslims are the most numerous.
This town located 55 km north of Damascus is famous for its cave shelters dating from the first centuries of Christianity. The majority of its inhabitants are Christians and Greek Catholics speak Aramaic , the language of Christ. The name of the city comes from Maala , which means entry into the language.
The town is famous in the Middle East for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14. This year, for the first time, the hills were not lit bonfires and locals and visitors , Christians and Muslims have not moved for large dinners and religious ceremonies.
If the arch at the entrance to the town is very damaged due to the explosion of a car bomb driven by a suicide bomber against an army checkpoint , which killed eight people , the town does not carry the stigma the war because of the refusal of the army to use artillery. Only the dome of the Church of St. Elijah is perforated.
" This war may be long because they hide in the mountains and in a hotel on the top , but I think that eventually we will prevail ," said the colonel of the Syrian army .
