Maalula Nuns Appear in New Al-Jazeera Video

Local Editor

A group of nuns from the historic Christian-majority town of Maalula in Syria appeared in a new video broadcast by the Qatar-based satellite news channel al-Jazeera on Sunday.

The women are reportedly 12 nuns from a Greek Orthodox convent of Mar Takla in Maalula who were taken by gunmen in early December. Al-Jazeera said the video it broadcast on Sunday was recorded on February 5.

They appeared in the recording without audio, but a commentator said "they say they are in good health, haven't been mistreated... and they are waiting for their release to return to the convent".

The report gave no indication of where the nuns were being held, but said that they were "Syrian and Lebanese" and had been "kidnapped".
They were kidnapped from the town north of Damascus after armed groups, seized control of Maalula in early December.

Religious officials said 12 nuns and three maids had gone missing from the convent, although one of the nuns in the video said they were 13 nuns and 3 "civilians".
Meanwhile, fears for the nuns safety increases as they were reportedly used as human shields.
In the latest footage, the nuns "thank all those who are seeking to obtain their release and call for the release of all prisoners", al-Jazeera reported them as saying.
Maalula, a picturesque village cut into the cliffs some 55 kilometres from Damascus, has long been a symbol of the ancient Christian presence in Syria.

Its residents are some of the few left in the world who speak Aramaic, the language Jesus Christ is believed to have spoken.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team