From The Church Times-THE kidnapping of two Syrian archbishops earlier this week has highlighted even more starkly than before the dangers facing the country's small Christian community during these days of intense civil conflict. The fate of the two churchmen is uncertain: reports on Tuesday that they had been released were later denied, and an unconfirmed story early on Wednesday suggested that they might have been released, but their location was not known.
The official Syrian news agency reported on Monday that the Syrian Oriental Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Mar Yohanna Ibrahim, and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, the Most Revd Paul Yazigi, had been seized by "a terrorist group" in the village of Kfar Dael in northern Syria, while they were "carrying out humanitarian work". Some reports suggested that the Archbishops were seeking a meeting with an armed group, to try to secure the release of other kidnapped Christians.
Confirmation of the abduction came from a member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition. A member of the Syriac community, Abdulahad Steifo, said that the two Archbishops had been captured on the road leading from the Turkish border to Aleppo. Reports said the Archbishops' driver, a deacon, had been shot dead. The government blamed the rebels for the abduction; the rebels blamed the government.
More here-
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/26-april/news/world/two-archbishops-abducted-by-unknown-forces-in-syria
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