The fate of the two Orthodox bishops abducted by unidentified gunmen in northern Syria on Monday remains unclear as sources close to them rejected reports that the duo had been released unharmed by their captors.
Some media reports had indicated earlier on Tuesday that the two bishops had returned to Aleppo after their release. But some news reports later quoted sources close to the prelates as saying that they were still held by their unidentified kidnappers.
Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim were abducted late on Monday as they were traveling to Aleppo from the rebel-held Bab al-Hawa crossing, located on the border with Turkey. Their driver was reportedly killed during the kidnapping.
It is not clear clear who abducted the two clergymen. Nevertheless, the Syrian government has issued a statement saying that they were abducted by "Chechen mercenaries" attached to the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra rebel group. Besides, the main armed rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, has denied any involvement in the abduction.
Notably, the two bishops are the most senior Christian clerics to be caught up directly in the current civil war in Syria, where Christians constitute nearly ten percent of the population before the conflict erupted two years ago.
An estimated 70,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since an armed rebellion against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began in Syria in March 2011. The civil war has forced about a million Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring countries, with a further two million more displaced internally.
The conflict is now threatening to spill over to neighboring nations and increasingly becoming sectarian in nature. International efforts at finding a solution to the crisis have been hampered by a deep divisions within the U.N. Security Council.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.