ALEPPO, February 19, 2013 thanks to Zenit.org
Christians in the Syrian town of
Aleppo are trying to contact the kidnappers responsible for the abduction of
two priests: Fr. Michel Kayyal of the Armenian Catholic Church and Fr. Maher
Mahfouz of the Greek Orthodox Church. Both were kidnapped on February 9thby a
group of armed rebels patrolling the road that leads from Aleppo to Damascus.
Attempts at contact with the abductors, however, have failed so far.
In an interview with Fides News Agency, Archbishop Bourtros
Marayati, the Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, has said that the
kidnappers had contacted the brother of one of the abductees.
“The so-called kidnappers phoned the brother of one of the
two priests and said only: ‘They are with us’,” Archbishop Marayati said.
“But they did not explain what is behind the ‘we’, and have not asked for
any demands. On our behalf, we have limited the area in which they are held
hostage, and we are trying to open a channel of negotiation with the tribal
leader of that area. So far our attempts have not had concrete effects.
“We do not know what the matrix [of the group] of kidnappers
is,” he continued, “if we are dealing with rebels, bandits. We wonder
why this choice of kidnapping the two priests was made, among the many passengers
of the bus attacked by the kidnappers. “
Father Kayyal and Father Mahfouz were traveling aboard a public
bus, heading to the Salesian house in Kafrun. Thirty kilometers from Aleppo,
the kidnappers stopped the vehicle, checked the passengers’ documents and only
then did they ask the two priests to get off, taking them away immediately.
Archbishop Marayati did not confirm rumors that the priests are
being held for a ransom of 160,000 euros. The Archbishop of Aleppo told Fides
that since yesterday the area of Aleppo where he resides and the pastoral
settlements of the Armenian Catholic community are at the heart of explosions
and armed clashes between the loyalist army and rebels.