Dutch priest killed in Syria

A Dutch priest who obstinately brushed away pleas to flee war-torn Syria has been killed. Frans van der Lugt (72) who had lived in the city of Homs for over 50 years, was kidnapped from his house by armed men and later shot in the head twice. This was first reported by AP and on Monday confirmed by Jan Stuyt, the secretary of the Dutch Order of the Jesuits. A Volkskrant report in February said that the The Hague born priest ran a school and helped mentally ill people in the city. And in an interview with NOS he said earlier that he would not leave the city. "If i leave this house there will be nothing left of it. That is a very important matter for me. And there are still many Christian people here; I do not want to abandon them," he said, adding, "And even if all Christians are gone, I will still stay, because I am here for Syria and all Syrians. I love this country." In January Father Frans appeared in a Youtube film, speaking Arabic and urging the world not to look by idly while people suffer from hunger in Syria. "Our biggest problem here is hunger. There is nothing worse than seeing people on the street, looking for something for their children to eat."