There Are No Armenians Among the Abducted Christians in Syria

• 02.25.2015, 19:15
•  Near East,  World,  Armenia,  Diaspora

There are no Armenians among the abducted dozens of Christians from villages in north-eastern Syria, says Department of Near East and Middle East of Ministry of Diaspora in response to the inquiry of "Armedia" Information, Analytical Agency. They also informed that the Armenians still live in these Syrian regions.

It should be reminded that Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Islamic State (IS) has abducted dozens of Assyrian Christians from villages in north-eastern Syria. According to BBC, they were seized in a series of dawn raids near the town of Tal Tamr. Some Assyrians managed to escape and made their way east to the largely Kurdish-controlled city of Hassakeh. Besides, two ancient churches were also burned in this area.

Today Bassam Ishak, the president of the Syriac National Council of Syria, told Reuters that at least 150 people were abducted. "We have verified at least 150 people who have been abducted from sources on the ground," he said. In his turn, Syrian news agency SANA informs that more than 20 people were killed by the militants of the Islamic State in the city Tel Tamr.  The population sheltered in the neighboring city Al-Hasaqe.

According to International Business Times, the U.S. government strongly condemned the abduction of 150 Assyrian Christians, including women and children, by militants of the Islamic State group, and demanded their immediate release. "ISIL’s latest targeting of a religious minority is only further testament to its brutal and inhumane treatment of all those who disagree with its divisive goals and toxic beliefs," Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said, in a statement released Tuesday.