02/11/2020 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – One month has passed since the disappearance of Hurmuz and Simoni Diril, an elderly Christian couple living in Turkey who were abducted by the PKK. There are no indications regarding their status nor whereabouts. An official investigation remains ongoing. A ground search for the couple yielded no results, and was greatly impacted by adverse winter weather conditions.
PKK abductions of Christians were common in this area during the 1990s, prompting several to evacuate. The Diril couple had returned to their village of Mehr a decade ago specifically out of the desire to set an example of restoring Christianity to this area. Their son, Father Adday Ramzi Diril, is a well-known Chaldean Catholic priest known for his pastoral care of 7,000 Iraqi Christian refugees living in Turkey.
Prayers are needed for the Diril family during this challenging time. The uncertainty of the couple’s fate is quite painful, both to the family and other Christians who benefited from the Diril’s various ministries. Turkey is requested to keep the investigation open, determine the outcome of their fate, and hold the abductors accountable.
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