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| 在叙利亚的暴力阴影下，基督徒庆祝圣诞节。Photos of people killed at security sites on Friday in two car bomb attacks are seen on a Christmas tree in Damascus December 24, 2011. |
在叙利亚的暴力阴影下，基督徒庆祝圣诞节。DAMASCUS, Syria - On the Christmas Eve, Christians in Syria suffered from distress and some even canceled celebrations due to violence across the country and recent deadly explosions in the capital Damascus.
The Christian neighborhoods in Syria, which were usually decorated with colorful lights on the Christmas Eve in the past, on Saturday look as dim as other parts of the country that has been gripped by months of unrest. Markets which were usually crowded with people at this time look relatively empty this year.
Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim of Antioch and All the East on Saturday called for limiting the Christmas and New Year occasions.
Patriarchal Assistant at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Bishop Luca al-Khouri, told local media that Syrians are brothers and no one can divide them, adding that "we live together, Muslim and Christian clergymen, Christian and Muslim people, in this sage country... but they want to fragment this country, and God willing they won't be able to do that."
Al-Khouri said that on the Christmas Eve, "the enemies of Syria opted to gift Syria with victims rather than good wishes."
Syria has long said that it is subject to a foreign conspiracy and some unnamed countries have channeled funds and weapons to extremists and armed thugs in Syria to undermine its stability and security.
In the most deadly events in the country since the unrest started in March, two suicide bombers attacked two security compounds in Damascus on Friday, killing at least 44 people and wounding 166 others. The Syrian government said the two blasts bore the hallmark of al-Qaida.
Syria's Christians, who take up about 10 percent in the country 's Sunni-majority population, have showed support to the embattled President Bashar al-Assad.
