24th April, 2013
Confusion surrounds the fate of two Syrian archbishops who were kidnapped earlier this week with reports that they have been released being refuted by some organisations.
The two men – Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi, both of Aleppo – were reportedly dragged from their car at gunpoint on Monday evening from in a village near Aleppo where reports suggested they had been trying to negotiate the release of other kidnap victims. Their driver, a priest, was killed in the incident.
Some media have been reporting that the archbishops have been released but a statement on the website of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America says that’s not the case.
It isn’t clear who the kidnappers were but the Syrian state news agency SANA has ascribed the kidnapping to "terrorists", apparently a term it uses to describe rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The kidnapping was condemned by Christian leaders around the world with Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches saying such events were "a threat to all religious communities".
Rev Dr Tveit said in a statement that the attack was an "outrageous violation of human rights" and called for their immediate release.
“Archbishop Ibrahim and Archbishop Yazigi are prominent leaders in the Syrian society,” he said. “Through their commitment in various local, national and global initiatives they are well known as actors for peace and justice not only for the Christians of Syria but for all the Syrian people.”
– DAVID ADAMS
