The official Syrian media have confirmed the abduction of two bishops of Aleppo by armed men. Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek-Orthodox bishop of Aleppo Bulos Yazigi were together in a car coming from the Turkish border, thirty kilometers into the country headed to Alep. In the area of Kfar Dael, a town on the eastern outskirts of the center of Alep, they were stopped by "armed men" who ordered them and the driver, a deacon, out of the car. After killing the deacon on the spot the gunmen disappeared, taking the two bishops with them. The territory between the Turkish border and Aleppo is controlled by anti-government rebels. At the beginning of February, two priests were abducted by opposition militants in the south of Aleppo, Armenian Catholic Father Michel Kayyal and Greek-Orthodox Father Maher Mahfuz, Greek-orthodox. Both have since disappeared.
(Photo: Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim )