World Needs Peace More Than Any Time Before: Tehran Archbishop

Tehran, Dec 31, IRNA – World needs peace more than any time before, the Primate of the Armenian Orthodox Diocese of Tehran Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian said here on Sunday. Congratulating the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ, Sarkissian prayed for the establishment of peace, security and progress across the world, including Iran, Armenia and Syria. 'Peace is an immediate need of the world today; Christmas days are good opportunity for all Christians to pray for the well-being of Iranian citizens and Syrian people.' Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Thousands of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrest in Syria. The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by some Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States. The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide some Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure./end