WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) -- Thousands of Michigan residents with family ties to war-torn Syria are worrying about the fate of their loved-ones. Many are giving aid, and some are putting their own lives at risk to help the people of their ancestral homeland.
West Bloomfield resident Dr. Ammar Sukari says he tried to persuade his father to leave Aleppo in northwestern Syria, but the 68-year-old said he'd rather die than leave the family home.
On Dec. 29, the retired elementary school principal was shot to death by a sniper as he walked toward an army checkpoint.
The 37-year-old Ammar Sukari tells the Detroit Free Press that his father's story is one of just 60,000, referring to those killed in the war between the regime of Bashar Assad and those seeking his overthrow.
