Maaloula Nuns Freed
Local Editor
Thirteen nuns were freed late Sunday by Syrian terrorist groups following the Lebanese and Qatari mediation, officials said, putting an end to an ordeal that lasted more than three months and won world sympathy.
"Congratulations. The nuns are now in the custody of General Security and are on their way to Jdaidet Yabouss," General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim told reporters late Sunday at the VIP Lounge in Jdaidet Yabouss, a Syrian border post near the frontier with Lebanon. Sitting next to him was Hussein Makhlouf, the governor of rural Damascus.
Upon her arrival at the Jdaidet Yabouss crossing after a journey that took nine hours, Mother Therese, one of the released nuns, thanked God and all those who negotiated their release for their safety before embracing Ibrahim.
One of the nuns was being carried by security personnel as she seemed too weak to walk on her own.
Escorted by Lebanese Army vehicles, the convoy of cars carrying the 13 nuns and their three housemaids drove beneath torrential rains from Arsal to Jdaidet Yabouss in the early hours of Monday.
Ibrahim, who had been mediating with Syrian and Qatari officials to secure the nuns' release, said the kidnappers tried at the last minute to scuttle the deal to free the nuns in a bid to achieve more gains.
He denied that any ransom was paid to the kidnappers. "There was no deal. No money was paid in exchange for the release of the nuns. It is a comprehensive operation and obstacles are normal," Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim refused to give details of the deal reached with the kidnappers. "What we have committed to will be implemented," he said.
The nuns, who were kidnapped from their monastery in the historic town of Maaloula in Syria on Dec. 3, were welcomed by Ibrahim, Makhlouf as well as Muslim scholars and Christian bishops when their convoy arrived at Jdaidet Yabouss.
Security sources said the nuns were taken to Arsal after they were released by their kidnappers in Yabroud, about 20 km to the north. The Syrian army troops have launched a major military operation in an attempt to evict the militants entrenched in the town's mountains.
The nuns went missing after Syrian rebel forces, including Islamist fighters, captured the ancient quarter of the Christian town of Maaloula, north of Damascus. The town is located on the edge of the rugged Qalamoun region, about 60 kilometers northeast of the capital.
After being held in the Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Thecla in Maaloula, they were reportedly taken to Yabroud.
Maaloula's historic value lies in its ancient Christian presence and the fact that some of its residents still speak Aramaic, the language Jesus is believed to have spoken.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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