Syrian army moves to retake Christian village

BEIRUT: Syrian troops launched an offensive Monday against rebel-held positions on hills overlooking a mainly Christian village as they moved to regain control of the ancient community near the capital, Damascus, activists said.
The battle for Maaloula, has stoked fears among Syrian Christians that the alternative to Assad’s regime — which is made up mostly of Alawites, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam — would not tolerate minority religions. Such concerns have helped Assad retain the support of large chunks of Syria’s minority communities, including Christians, Alawites, Druze and ethnic Kurds. Most of the rebels and their supporters are Sunni Muslims.
Diplomatic efforts to end the 2 ½ year conflict gained momentum as Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem welcomed a call from Russia, its close ally, to place the country’s chemical arsenals under international control to avert a US strike, but he did not offer a time frame or any other specifics.
Al-Moallem’s remarks, made during a visit to Moscow, appeared to mark the first official acknowledgment by Damascus that it possesses chemical weapons. But it remained to be seen whether the statement represented a genuine goodwill gesture by Syria or simply an attempt to buy time.