No news of the 13 Ma'aloula nuns: Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate
Damascus, 12 December 2013: 13 Greek -orthodox nuns kidnapped on Dec. 2 in Maaloula
along with some young orphans are still in the hands of the Islamist group al- Ahrar
Qalamoun. After the video released on December 6 by Al- Jazeera there has been no
more news of the women religious, despite the speculation about their possible release
as early as last December 9.
Contacted by AsiaNews, the Greek - orthodox Patriarchate
of Antioch says it "does not have any news on the condition of the nuns and three
young orphans from Ma'aloula." The last direct contact was a brief phone call to the
Patriarch of Antioch Youhanna X a few days after the kidnapping.
"Since then
- said a source in the Patriarchate - no one has been in touch with us and most of
the news we read on the internet like the rest of the world. We have seen the video
released by al- Jazeera, but we have no confirmation on the real condition of the
sisters, nor the reasons for their seizure and we think that the video is unreliable
and further investigation is required. "In the video the Ma'aloula sisters appeared
in good health and denied having been abducted , but only brought to safety. The women
were filmed wearing their religious clothing, but without the traditional crucifix.
Fierce
fighting is being reported from the region of Qalamoun between the army and Islamist
insurgents. The area which incorporates the small village of Yabrud is located about
50 km kilometers northwest of Damascus and is one of the most important strongholds
of the rebels. In the mountainous area on the border with Lebanon, there are several
predominantly Christian villages such as Sadad and Hofar fallen in recent months into
the hands of Islamic extremists. Yesterday the army regained control of Nabak, Deir
Attiya and Qara.
AsiaNews sources point out that the rebels fighting against
Assad belong to different factions, each taking advantage of abductions for various
purposes. Some groups, such as the authors of the seizure of the Sisters of Maaloula,
trying to distance themselves from extremist and violent kidnappings say the abductions
are "humanitarian actions aimed at the protection of civilians."
According
to El Mundo - which in recent months has silenced the news to deal with the kidnappers
- the two journalists were kidnapped along with four fighters of the Free Syrian Army.
The militiamen were released after 12 days, but not the two Spaniards . Today Monica
Prieto , wife of Javier Espinosa, has appealed to the kidnappers: "Javier and Ricardo
are not your enemies. Please honor the revolution that they have protected and free
them. "There are also several Syrian anti- Assad activists in the hands of groups
of kidnappers, not yet been identified. Today, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
announced the disappearance of Razan Zaytouna, winner of the Anna Politkovskaya Award
2011. The woman was kidnapped in the suburb of Douma east of Damascus along with other
activists by armed men. They raided the headquarters of the Centre for the documentation
of human rights violations linked to the rebellion. Zaytouna had admitted receiving
death threats from Islamic extremist groups.Source: AsiaNews