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Vatican leads tributes to Jesuit priest shot dead in Syria

The Vatican has led tributes to the Dutch Jesuit priest Fr Frans van der Lugt, who has been killed in Syria.

It's understood Fr Frans van der Lugt was shot twice in the head on Monday by an unknown sniper, who reportedly killed him while he tended his small garden in the Old City.

In a statement, the Vatican praised Fr van der Lugt as a "man of peace," and expressed "great pain" over his death.

"This is the death of a man of peace, who showed great courage in remaining loyal to the Syrian people despite an extremely risky and difficult situation," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

Jesuit priest Fr Damien Howard who lectures on Muslim-Christian relations at the University of London also paid tribute on Premier's News Hour.

The 75-year-old Fr Frans van der Lugt, who had worked in Syria since 1967, had been looking after 89 Christians trapped in the Old City who were sheltering in an old monastery.

The number fell to around 20-25 in February 2014 after a three-day truce between warring sides allowed some people to leave the Old City.

However, Fr Frans van der Lugt reportedly remained behind to take care of those who could not leave, after UN representatives were forced to flee the city before remaining Christians had time to escape the violence.

John Newton from anti-persecution charity Aid to the Church in Need tells Premier he now has major concerns for the other Christians who are still in Homs.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans wrote on his Facebook page that van der Lugt "only brought good to Homs, was a Syrian among Syrians, (who) refused to abandon them even when it meant risking his own life."

The Syrian government has reportedly blamed "terrorists" for the priest's death, while various opposition groups working in the city have blamed the government.

Christians made up about 10 percent of Syria's population before protests in 2011 led to a wider civil war. The minority traditionally supported President Bashar Assad for protecting them and has been attacked by his opponents for that stand.

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