Pope appeals for end to Damascus slaughter

A young girl receives treatment at a makeshift hospital following regime bombardments in the Eastern Ghouta region. PHOTO CREDIT: Amer Almohibany

 VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis appealed Sunday for an end to the “inhuman” bombardment by Syrian forces of the rebel enclave of east Ghouta, saying “one cannot fight evil with another evil.”

 “These days my thoughts often have turned to beloved and martyred Syria , where the war has re-exploded, especially in eastern Ghouta,” the pontiff said dueing his weekly Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square.

 “This month of February has beem one of the most violent in seven years of conflict – hundreds, thousands of civilian victims, children, women, old people, the hospitals have been hit, people cannot obtain food … “ Francis said.

 “All this is unhman. One cannot fight evil with evil. Therefore I make a heartfelt appeal for the violence to end immediately and that access be given to humanitarian aid, food and medicine, and that the wounded and sick be evacuated,” the pope said.

 “Let us pray that this happen without delay,” the pontiff said.

 jp