The Armenian college in Damascus is still functioning. It’s attended by 182 students, including 25 Arabs, who live nearby, Beirut-based Aztag daily reports.

According to member of Arab Writers Union Nora Harissian, the Armenian language and theology in the college are taught 5 and 2 times per week respectively. Besides, there are lessons in Arabic, English and French.

“Despite the ongoing conflict, the college is open and the community does its utmost to secure uninterrupted education process,” Harissian said.

The college was founded in 1929 by the Armenians who fled the genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

Before the war, there were 80,000 Armenians living in Syria, most of them in Aleppo. When hostilities broke out 10,000 people fled to Armenia while 5,000 settled in neighboring Lebanon.

The war took lives of 115,000 people, according to the UN.