[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 2, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONDEMNING KESSAB ATTACKS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DAVID N. CICILLINE

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 2, 2014

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in Congress in 
condemning attacks on the Syrian Armenian population in Kessab by 
extremist fighters connected to al-Qaeda. On March 21, al-Qaeda 
affiliated terrorists out of Turkey attacked the peaceful Christian-
Armenian community in a town that has served as a place of refuge for 
those trying desperately to escape the bloodshed of the past three 
years. This brutal assault is yet another consequence of the 
increasingly dangerous violence in Syria that leaves innocent civilians 
with no choice but to again flee as they have already done from their 
homes in Aleppo.
   This war and the escalating brutality in the past months have put 
far too many innocent civilians at risk and I am deeply troubled that 
recent events including mass exoduses and violent strikes upon the 
peaceful Armenian communities hark back to the early days of the 
Armenian Genocide under Ottoman rule nearly 100 years ago. No innocent 
civilian in any part of the world should be targeted because of their 
ancestry, ethnicity or religion, and I want to work with my colleagues 
to find a way to bring an end to such brutal attacks and the 
increasingly violent civil war ravaging the region that has left over 
100,000 dead and forced over 2 million to flee their homes and 
communities. I will work with my colleagues on the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee to help find a diplomatic solution to this crisis and 
ensure that Armenians of Kessab and Aleppo can return to their peaceful 
lives.

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