30 March 2014
BEIRUT: The case of the bishops kidnapped in Syria for almost a year is complicated, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, director-general of Lebanon’s General Security, said in comments published Sunday, adding, however, that efforts to release them are “on the right track.”
“The case of the two abducted bishops in Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim, is more complicated than the case of the Maaloula nuns, but it is on the right track,” Abbas told the Al-Raya Qatari newspaper.
“I would rather keep the information out of the public so as not to spoil the efforts being exerted in that regard, but I assure [the public] that all efforts are being exerted to resolve this humanitarian case,” he said.
Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Paul Yazigi, and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim were abducted on April 23, 2013 by gunmen while returning to the northern Syrian city from the Turkish border.
Ibrahim also praised the role played by Qatar in the release of the Lebanese pilgrims, who were held in Syria’s Aazaz, and a group of nuns abducted from the Syrian town of Maaloula.
Ibrahim, who helped secure the release of the Maaloula nuns earlier this month, as well as the Lebanese hostages last year, has also been following up on the case of the bishops.
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Ibrahim says kidnapped bishops’ case ‘complicated’ | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR