Gunman kills Dutch priest in Syrian city of Homs

THE TIMES OF INDIA

A Syrian priest and an activist group say a masked gunman has opened fire on a well-known, elderly priest in the central Syrian city of Homs, killing him instantly.

Homs-based priest Assad Nayyef and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say the assailant shot to death 72-year-old Father Francis Van Der Lugt inside a monastery in the city’s Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood.

Motives for the attack were not immediately known.

During the three-year civil war, Van Der Lught repeatedly refused to leave Bustan al-Diwan, a rebel stronghold that has been blockaded by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad for the past year.

Van Der Lught had been living in Syria since 1964. He wouldn’t leave Homs while there were still Christians in blockaded areas.

Condemning the assassination, Ribal Al-Assad, Director of ODFS said:

“I am truly sorry to learn of this fatal attack against Father Francis Van Der Lugt, a person of great eminence who had devoted his life to the assistance of others.

This was a crime of hate perpetrated by extremists who’s sole aim is to annihilate all those who do not conform to their narrow perverted ideology.

Crimes like this must not go unpunished and those responsible must be fully held to account for their actions.

My thoughts and prayers are with the community, the victims and their families at this time.”