Al-Atshaneh residents woke up to find that all the glass of St Joseph Church is broken and the blood is surrounding the atrium.

The residents commented saying "It is a rude act", "Those are Jehovah Witnesses", or even "Those who did it are the devil worshippers".

The family of Kourkiss, whose home is 20 meters away from the church, clarified that the incident took place Sunday overnight.

The father tells al-Joumhouria daily, "We did not notice any unusual act, especially that we cannot reach our home only when we pass through the church door," he said.

"I personally pass everyday and kiss one of the church walls before heading to work, but on Sunday morning I join the believers to the mass, when we have noticed that the glass is broken and the blood is everywhere, we thought that an assailant tried to rob it," the master of Kourkiss family added.

In his turn, Juliano Kourkiss the son thinks that the blood belongs to a cat or any other animal that was killed because the human cannot bleed so much and not faint. Juliano says that the act is an act of sabotage and only aims at inciting the fear among the residents of the region.

In contact with the St Joseph church custodian, the priest Charbel al-Hajj in remarks to al-Joumhouria daily revealed that "I have been the church custodian for two years now and I have never witnessed such act; however I condemn all sabotage acts on places of worship.”

On Sunday mass at 11:30 am I arrived ten minutes earlier and I saw the believers crowded at the church door then I saw the blood and the broken glass, so we immediately called the security apparatus and Criminal Investigation Department.

Maronite Bishop Samir Mazloum strongly condemned the act, "We strongly condemn the act of vandalizing of St Joseph Church in al-Atshaneh, as we condemn all kinds of assaults on places of worship either a church or a mosque and we also condemn the attack on citizens' security," Mazloum declared.

Al-Atshaneh region is envied for being peaceful; however the residents expressed their mounting fear from the latest security incidents, in parallel with the increasing number of foreign workers whose number exceeds 800 workers. The residents urged the security apparatuses to swiftly unveil the circumstances of the incident in order to prevent places of worship to be always a target.