Ослобођене монахиње из Малуле у Сирије

[Ромејац]

Nuns kidnapped in Syria's Maaloula set free – reports

 

 

Twelve Lebanese and Syrian nuns, who were kidnapped from the historic Christian town of Maaloula in December, have now been released and are on their way to Syria, Lebanese security source said.

The nuns were transferred to the village of Arsal, western Lebanon, earlier in the week, the source told Reuters on Sunday.

Their whereabouts and condition remained unknown for over three months, with first reports of the abduction emerging in early December as Islamic rebels seized the ancient quarter of Maaloula, a predominantly Christian town and UNESCO heritage site in eastern Syria.

"What the Syrian army achieved in Yabroud facilitated this process," Syrian Greek Orthodox Bishop Louka Khoury speaking to reporters at the border.

It is unclear exactly who had held the nuns and why they had been released now. However, reports in various media said the deal was brokered with the Nusra Front, one of the radical groups fighting President Bashar Assad’s forces. Lebanon’s General Security Chief the head of Qatari intelligence were reported to have played a major role in the negotiations.

Earlier, the Nusra Front had reportedly been demanding the release of 500 militants held in Syria and Lebanon in return for the nuns, according to the Al-Mayadeen satellite channel.

The nuns were kidnapped during fierce fighting between rebel forces and the Syrian army for control of strategic Damascus – Homs highway, which passes close to Maaloula.

Soon after being abducted, the nuns were moved to the nearby rebel-held town of Yabroud 20km away. The date for the release was reportedly set to coincide with a ceasefire in Yabroud, which began at sunset on Sunday.

Later in December a video of the nuns was broadcast on Al-Jazeera. A commentator said that the nuns were in good health and were waiting for their release to return to their convent in Maaloula, the Monastery of Mar Thekla. The video did not give any indication of where the nuns were.

Syria's Christian minority has sometimes found itself caught in the middle of the fighting in the civil war, which, having started in March of 2011, is quickly approaching its third year and is becoming increasingly sectarian.

[Danijela]

A convoy of Lebanese security vehicles transported the women to the Lebanese border

 

 

One of thirteen released nuns speaks to the press upon their arrival in Jdaidet Yabouss, Monday, March 10, 2014. (The Daily Star/TV grab)

 

 

The nuns reached the Syrian town of Judaydat Yabus overnight after a nine-hour journey

 

 

 

 

Nuns, who were freed after being held by rebels for over three months, arrive at the Syrian border with Lebanon at the Jdaydeh Yaboos crossing, early March 10, 2014.(Reuters / Khaled al-Hariri )

 

 

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2014/03/snaps-from-the-release-of-the-kidnapped-nuns-of-maaloula/

[Danijela]

idnapped nuns arrive at Jdeidet Yabus on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon after an arduous nine-hour journey that took them from Yabrud into Lebanon, and then back into Syria on March 10, 2014.( AFP Photo / Louai Beshara)

 

 

The kidnapped nuns arrive at Jdeidet Yabus on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon on March 10, 2014. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2014/03/snaps-from-the-release-of-the-kidnapped-nuns-of-maaloula/

[Danijela]

 

 

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2014/03/snaps-from-the-release-of-the-kidnapped-nuns-of-maaloula/

[Guest]

Ослобођене монахиње из Малилуле у Сирији

10. Март 2014 - 9:34

 

 

 

 

 

Монахиње из древног манастира Свете Текле у сиријском граду Малули ослобођене су 9. марта у замену за ослобађање од стране сиријских власти групе припадника оружане опозиције. Како је пренео сателитски канал Ал Џазира, ослобођене затворенице биће пребачене у Либан. Процес размене је у овом тренутку почео под контролом посредника шефа обавештајних служби Катара и Либана – Ханема ал Кубејсија и Абаса Ибрахима, саопштава РТ позивајући се на ИТАР-ТАСС. Ослобођене монахиње на челу са игуманијом Пелагијом већ су стигле у либански погранични град Ерсал, одакле ће наставити свој пут преко контролног пункта Џедејда до Дамаска.

Подсетимо, 2. децембра прошле године, током напада побуњеника на древни манастир у Малули, 55 км северно од Дамаска, 12 монахиња и искушеница на челу са игуманијом Пелагијом допало је шака наоружаним екстремистима. Судбина монахиња је била у жижи интересовања регионалних и светских медија.

 

 

Извор: pravoslavie.ru

 

Фото: pravoslavie.ru; OCP Cognate Page, SPC