Beirut: Activists say hundreds of Christian families are fleeing a central Syrian town as Daesh terrorists advance toward it.

Osama Edward, the director of the Christian Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria, said “hundreds of families” have fled the Christian town of Sadad toward the government-held central city of Homs and the capital, Damascus.

Syria-based activist Bebars Al Talawy says intense clashes took place Saturday near the central town of Qaryatain, which Daesh captured on Thursday. Qaryatain is about 25 kilometers northwest of Sadad.

Activists said Daesh abducted 230 residents, including dozens of Christians, from Qaryatain in recent days. Activists say some Christians were released, though the fate of the others is still unknown. Human rights and church groups voiced concern Friday for the fate of the civilians.

“The abhorrent abduction in Syria of more than 200 people by Daesh highlights the dreadful plight of civilians caught up in the conflict in the country,” Neil Sammonds, Amnesty International’s Syria researcher, said in a statement Friday.

The international human rights organization called on Daesh to “respect the rules of war and immediately release those civilians unharmed.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition watchdog group based in England, said the extremists had detained 230 civilians, including “scores” of Christians, from Qaryatain, which was overrun last week.

Among those taken were 45 women and 19 children, the observatory said. The group said at least 800 people were still missing from the town, once home to about 14,000 people.

The Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese in Homs said negotiations with the militants had secured the release of 200 Christian families, although 100 families remained in custody. Those released were taken to the nearby village of Saddad, the archdiocese said in a letter.

But others disputed the abduction reports, saying no families had been held. Much of the population fled as Daesh approached the town, according to social media accounts.

“There is no detaining of any family from the Christians or others,” said an opposition activist who runs a Facebook page titled “Qaryatain Around the Clock,” and asked not to be identified by his real name due to security concerns. “At least half the population left already, and others left but have returned.”

He described those detained by Daesh as suspected “regime collaborators.”