London, Dec 25

Pope Francis in his Christmas Day address urged all parties to bring an end to the violence in Syria and allow humanitarian relief.

The Pope, in his address at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, asked people to pray for a peaceful end to violence in Syria and other conflict zones, BBC reported Wednesday.

The Argentine pontiff also spoke about violence in the Central African Republic.

The Pope called it an "often forgotten and overlooked" conflict in a country "torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty".

The Pope took part in the Christmas Mass in the St. Peter's Basilica Tuesday midnight.

According to BBC, more than 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed since an uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.

Out of a population of 21 million, around 6.5 million Syrians are living as internally displaced people while almost 2.3 million are living as refugees in other countries.

By:IANS