About 60 Armenians have died in the Syrian conflict, historian Gevorg Yazichian told reporters today. “The Armenian community of Aleppo counted 45-50 thousand before the conflict, only half has remained there,” he said. According to official data, 17 thousand have moved to Armenia.

“Most Syrian Armenians have centered in Damascus. It’s comparatively safe there as the city is under the control of Syrian forces. Latakia and Kessab are two other Armenian-populated settlements,” he said

Armenia is the fourth in the world with the number of Syrian refugees hosted. Therefore, Yazichian says, we can count on support from international organizations.

According to the historian, the situation has considerably changed after Russia launched air strikes, but “it’s still hard to predict when and how the conflict will end.”

He considers that the Syrian army does not act as effectively as it could, and there are ideological reasons for it.

“People in both Syria and Iraq are ‘poisoned’ by ideas of radical Islamism. The Russian air force and the Syrian army can succeed, but to end the war those masses should be offered a new ideology that will correspond to their religious beliefs and views,” Yazichian said.