Father Frans van der Lugt, a Dutch Jesuit priest who became a symbol of suffering and compassion in the war-ravaged Old City district of Homs, was shot to death Monday morning by a lone gunman, according to members of his order. The killing came amid growing disputes between Syrian insurgents blockaded in the Old City ”” those who want to accept an amnesty from the government in exchange for laying down their arms, and those who do not.
After Syrian government forces isolated and laid siege to the rebel-held Old City for more than a year, a truce in January allowed the evacuation of 1,500 people, both civilians and fighters. But Father Frans, as he was known, insisted on remaining in the monastery where he had lived for decades, offering refuge to Muslim and Christian families alike and sharing their deprivation and trauma.
The killer’s identity and motives were not known, but the attack carried a heavy symbolic importance. Though he was European, Father Frans, 72, had come to be considered part of Syrian society and was well known in and around Homs, including among local insurgents in the Old City.
This is an even-handed report, but that is what worries me a little. It does not lean towards blaming either regime or rebels, implying it could be either. Press reports here in London, however, suggest that the killer was from one of the more extreme rebel factions, because those factions are trying to prevent civilian evacuation of Homs, on the grounds that evacuation would facilitate government assault on the city. In other words, are holding the civilians as hostages.