A Christian prayer for peace in Syria NEW: More than 100 people were killed in fresh violence Tuesday, an opposition group says Fighting reported in Christian-Druze enclave outside Damascus Attacks on bakeries in opposition areas kill at least 115 people, dissidents say A mysterious gas kills six people in Homs, a doctor and an opposition group say (CNN) -- Deep sorrow over Syria echoed across the Vatican on Christmas Day as Pope Benedict XVI urged warring parties to end a 21-month-old civil war. "May peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims," the pope said in his traditional Christmas message, delivered from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. Sunni Muslims make up three-quarters of Syria's 22.5 million people. But Christians from several denominations represent 10% of the population, and they have been drawn into a civil war that has largely been fought by the Alawite-dominated government and the largely Sunni opposition. Christians have been historically protected by Bashar al-Assad's regime, and have been reluctant to take sides. Some Christians in Syria abhor al-Assad, and others support the government. Many have been apprehensive about the prospects of an opposition government and fear the influx of jihadist types in rebel ranks. Jaramana, a town in the Damascus suburbs with a Christian and Druze population that has mostly been pro-regime, endured a flare-up of violence Monday night. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels ambushed and killed a military intelligence officer Monday night. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition network, said Tuesday that the Free Syrian Army rebels killed five military intelligence soldiers in clashes with government forces. A report issued last week by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria focused on sectarian hostilities and referred to the dangers that Christians face. It cited a car bombing outside a bakery in Jaramana and the kidnapping of Christians in September. Before the conflict started, the largest Christian communities were in the Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs regions, it said. But many Christians have fled their homes because of the violence. Homs Christians have escaped to Damascus, and some have made their way to Beirut. Armenians in Syria have sought refuge in Armenia. Syria's Armenian Orthodox and other Christian communities "have sought protection by aligning themselves with the Government, with the consequence that they have come under attack from anti-Government armed groups," the report said. Some Christians have formed "armed self-defense groups to protect their neighborhoods from anti-Government fighters by establishing checkpoints around these areas." More than 40,000 Syrians have been killed since March 2011, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. At least 102 people were killed Tuesday, the LCC said. Of those, 39 died in Damascus and its suburbs. Tuesday's violence occurred after two days of air assaults on Syrian civilians waiting in line for bread. Both bombings took place in areas known for anti-government sentiment. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the Hama province attack. A doctor in Homs said six people have died after exposure to a mysterious gas. Those who were farther away from the source suffered difficulty breathing, disorientation, hallucinations, nervousness and a lack of limb control similar to excessive tear gas exposure. He said the gas appeared as a momentary white flash that went clear. "Gas was released and spread in the area after members of the regime forces threw canister bombs," Abdulrahman said. ..." The activists said that everyone who (inhaled) the gas felt severe headaches, and some had seizures. Diplomatic front: More talks, but no clear action Diplomats have been working for a political solution to the Syrian conflict, an initiative that has gone nowhere so far. There were few public details about any peace plans after a Monday meeting between al-Assad and U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. But the LCC on Tuesday laid out its own demands for peace talks. It said it would reject any initiative in which Syrians would be "forced to choose between accepting unfair compromises or the continuation of the regime's crimes against them." The group also warned against granting the government "more time to continue to destroy and kill." The LCC said that the president and his officials must leave power in order for any initiative to work, and that any plan to give the government immunity against prosecution would be "immediately rejected, as it threatens the chance for Syrians to succeed in achieving justice." In Bahrain, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council has called for an immediate end to violence in Syria, and it pledged its full support of the opposition, according to Kuwaiti state-run news. Members of the group, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have strongly supported the Syrian opposition. The four other Gulf Cooperation Council members are the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. CNN's Amir Ahmed, Samira Said and Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.