Kilo blames Syrian regime for kidnapping

Key Syrian opposition figure Michel Kilo has asserted that Syrian government air intelligence was involved in kidnapping two archbishops. Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, the Syriac and Greek Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, were kidnapped by armed rebels on the road to Aleppo from the Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey on April 22. In an interview broadcast on satellite channel Syria Tomorrow, Kilo confirmed that the kidnappers had surrendered the archbishops to a Syrian Air Force branch. Meanwhile, the Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem issued a joint statement demanding the release of the two Christian clerics and calling for an end to violence in Syria. The religious leaders bemoaned the kidnapping, which they described as a reflection of Syria’s tragic predicament and a threat to other countries in the region. They addressed the statement to the Syrian population in general and Christian groups and spiritual leaders "suffering from pain and violence" in particular. The two patriarchs beseeched the kidnappers to work towards peace and stability, underlining that it is in the interest of all Syrian people to bring an end violence and bloodshed. Multiple human rights organisations have noted the plight of Syrian Christians, who represent five percent of the population. Pope Francis and the international community have also called for the two archbishops’ release.