Syria: progress in search for kidnapped bishops

Bishop Yazigi & Bishop Ibrahim

The head of national security in Lebanon has said that the location of the two Syrian bishops, kidnapped in April, has been discovered, and there has been some 'indirect contact' with their captors and negotiations to secure their release.

General Abbas Ibrahim, head of the Lebanese General Security, said in a statement given to Fides: "About a month ago, I contacted a person who told me where the bishops Boulos al-Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim were, and on this basis I started the negotiations".

"We are now indirectly in contact with the kidnappers, and this is an important development that we will use as a starting point to get the results we hoped for ".

The two metropolitan bishops of Aleppo - the Greek Orthodox Boulos al-Yazigi and the Syrian Orthodox Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim - were kidnapped on 22 April in the area between the Syrian metropolis and the border with Turkey. Since then, no group had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Since the abductions there have been prayer vigils, services and peaceful demonstrations around the world appealing for the release of the two bishops. Last week, during talks held in Doha with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai and General Ibrahim, the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani promised to do everything possible to facilitate their release.

Source: Fides/ICN