Reports that Father Francois Murad was publicly beheaded are disputed - others say he was shot in his church, although photographs of the decapitated head do look like Fr Murad, poor soul.
"The Vatican news agency confirmed that Father Francois was killed on June 23 but said the "circumstances of the death are not fully understood". Two days after Father Francois was killed in Ghassaniyeh, the Custody of the Holy Land issued a press release saying Islamist groups shot the father dead. The press release said he had been given a funeral and buried.
"Islamists attacked the monastery, ransacking it and destroying everything. When Father Francois tried to resist, defending the nuns, rebels shot him," the release stated.
The resort town of Ghassaniyeh, in Syria's Latakia province, which was visited by the Telegraph, has fallen under the control of the extremist jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra. Father Francois was thought to be one of the last remaining Christian inhabitants. Two months ago four Italian journalists were kidnapped by Jabhat al-Nusra as they filmed inside Father Francois' church, which had recently been desecrated. Susan Dabbous, one of the kidnapped journalists, reported that Jabhat al-Nusra had referred to Father Francois as "a spy". "
Why we're involved in this conflict between the devil we know and the devil we're getting to know pretty quickly, I do not know, but one thing's for sure - it's got nothing to do with the welfare of the people of Syria.
