Bishops still captive, Christian neighborhood shelled in Syria

ICC Note: Two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in a village near Aleppo, Syria are still in the hands of kidnappers, Mgr. Jean-Clement Jeanbart, Greek Melkite bishop of Aleppo, told Asia News. “The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are doing their best to mediate with the kidnappers,” the prelate added, “but at present no one understands the reasons for this act and who is behind these criminals.” Meanwhile, mortar rounds hit one of Aleppo’s main Christian neighborhoods, killing four people on April 29, Asia News reports.
4/29/2013 Syria (AsiaNews) – The two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Aleppo are still in the hands of kidnappers, Mgr. Jean-Clement Jeanbart, Greek Melkite bishop of Aleppo, told AsiaNews. “The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are doing their best to mediate with the kidnappers,” the prelate added, “but at present no one understands the reasons for this act and who is behind these criminals.”
Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, Syrian Orthodox bishop of the diocese of Aleppo, and Boulos Yaziji, Greek Orthodox archbishop of the diocese of the same city, were abducted on 22 April in Kafr Dael, ten km from Aleppo, on the Turkish border. Their driver, a Syrian Orthodox deacon, was killed.
This morning, mortar rounds hit one of the city’s main Christian neighbourhoods. The shelling killed four people and several houses have collapsed.
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