Pope Francis urges aid access to Syria in Christmas speech

Pope Francis gave his first Christmas Eve Mass as pontiff on Tuesday

Pope Francis has used his first Christmas Day address to urge access for humanitarian aid in Syria.

He told thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square in the Vatican to pray for a peaceful end to violence in Syria and other conflict zones.

The Argentine pope also said tragic incidents involving migrants trying to reach Europe should not be repeated.

Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas, which marks the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.

It was the third successive year that the Syrian conflict had been a main focus of the Christmas speech, one of the addresses known as Urbi et Orbi.

The Pope said too many lives had been lost in Syria, and urged all parties to bring an end to violence and allow humanitarian relief.

He also highlighted violence in Central African Republic.

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

Thousands queued to get into Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter's Basilica

Outside, in St Peter's Square, actors performed a nativity play

On Tuesday evening thousands gathered in Bethlehem's Manger Square for Christmas Eve celebrations.

The nearby Church of the Nativity sits on the spot where Jesus is said to have been born.

Correspondents said it was the biggest crowd to attend the event in years.

Latin Patriarch Archbishop Fouad Twal, the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, called on the crowd to be "brothers with each other".

Pope Francis celebrated his first Christmas Eve Mass since becoming pontiff at St Peter's Basilica.

In a short homily, Francis said that every Christian can choose between darkness and light, between love and hate.

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