Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East for Greek Orthodox announced Tuesday that about 40 nuns and orphans are trapped inside the monastery of Saint Takla.

Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East for Greek Orthodox announced Tuesday that about 40 nuns and orphans are trapped inside the monastery of Saint Takla center of Maloula town in rural Damascus due to the ongoing clashes between the Syrian army and opposition fighters.

The Damascus-based Patriarchate stated in a statement that "the Monastery of Saint Takla in the town of Maloula, which is a civilized milestone for all Syrian citizens and which is at the same time, a civilized heritage of the human society as a whole, lives difficult and painful days for being located at the crossroad of fire exchange, which makes providing support a difficult and risky process."

Patriarchate urged the Syrian Red Crescent, the International Red Cross and all the governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with humanitarian affairs, to work for "providing the necessary supply for the monastery residents, nuns and orphans who are nearly forty people."

Maloula, known for ancient Christian monuments and cages hewn into the rock, located about 55 kilometers north of Damascus. It is one of the oldest Christian areas in the world and the only place where the inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ (as).