Ribal Al-Assad condemns abduction of Catholics in Syria
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Syria conflict: Jihadist rebels abduct Franciscan friar
BBC NEWS
A Roman Catholic priest and about 20 of his parishioners have been abducted by jihadist rebels in north-western Syria.
Father Hanna Jallouf was taken from the convent in the village of Knayeh by members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front on Sunday, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land said.
Nuns who were inside the convent at the time have taken refuge in nearby homes.
A number of nuns, monks and priests have been kidnapped or killed in Syria since the uprising began in 2011.
Senior Franciscan official Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land, told the AFP news agency that Fr Hanna and the other Christians had been accused of being "collaborators" with the government.
"We don't know what to do. We don't know with whom to talk, we're totally unable to get in touch with anyone," he added.
Fr Hanna, a Syrian, has worked at the St Joseph Convent in Knayeh, near Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province, for 12 years.
Al-Nusra was behind the abduction of a group of Greek Orthodox nuns and their attendants in Maaloula last December.
They were freed unharmed by the group in March as part of a prisoner exchange involving women and children held by the government.
But a month later a Dutch Jesuit priest, Frans van der Lugt, was beaten and shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his monastery in Homs.
Italian Jesuit priest Fr Paolo Dall'Oglio, who spent decades promoting religious dialogue in Syria, was kidnapped in July 2013 and is still missing.
Christians made up about 10% of Syria's population before the conflict in the country erupted.
They were initially cautious and tried to avoid taking sides. However, as the crackdown by security forces intensified and opposition supporters took up arms, they were gradually drawn into the conflict.
Many fear that if the secular government is overthrown, they will be targeted by groups calling for an Islamic state and that Christian communities will be destroyed, as they have been in Iraq since 2003.
Responding to the news, ODFS Director, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"I am very concerned to hear of yet another abduction in Syria by Islamist rebels; these abductions are becoming an almost daily occurrence and it is clear that not enough action is being taken to stop them.
The international community must do more, how many more people have to suffer at the hands of these extremists before action is taken to stop them.
We have seen time and time again how Islamic extremists are targeting minority groups, as well as ordinary Syrians who do not subscribe to their perverted ideology - they will not stop until their goal of an Islamic Caliphate has been achieved - the international community must take immediate action to rid the region of these animals.
In the mean time, I pray for the safe return of Fr Hanna and his parishioners."