ALEPPO—Syrian rebel forces abducted two Syrian-Armenian children on the border of Syria and Turkey on Sunday, as the bus carrying them to the Turkish border was stopped, reported the Aleppo-based Gandzasar newspaper.
A bus carrying three Armenia families, 7 women and two children, was forced to stop at the border. The rebels kidnapped the 12-year-old and 14-year-old children and set the women free. According to sources close to the Gandzasar newspaper, the women are now at the Turkish border.
On Thursday, Aleppo resident Marita Amirkhanian was found dead in her apartment. Reportedly, the elderly woman was injured by sniper fire while on her balcony. Relatives discovered her body two days later when her whereabouts were unknown and relatives went to her apartment to inquire. They broke down the door and found her remains in the apartment.
The situation in Aleppo has been deteriorating with a blockade of access routes by the rebels, making basic necessities scarce. Fighting in Aleppo has injured 12 people.
Armenians living in Aleppo have also endured grave losses. A bus carrying passengers from Aleppo to Beirut was attacked resulting in the death of one woman and injuring 17 on board. In the New Village in Aleppo a child was killed from sniper fire, while on Friday four Armenians were taken hostage after rebels attacked a bus en route from Aleppo to Yerevan.
The fate of the four kidnapped Armenians remains unclear.
Karekin Hatsakourtsian, Garo Boboghlian, Nareg Varjabedian and Sako Asatourian, who are between the ages of 25 and 30, were kidnapped en-route to Yerevan, while three women were attacked. They are now in a hotel at the Turkish-Syrian border.
“Armed clashes continue in Aleppo with large-scale bombings on residential areas. Sniper attacks continue on random passers-by,” Gandzasar correspondent Zarmig Boghikian reported.
She added that the Syrian-Armenian emergency relief body is continuing its activities, with a focus on the injured in Aleppo, and catering to the needs of residents in Damscus, Latakia, Kessab and Jezirre.
These are really worrying news. I hope that these children can be found safe and in very near future. My heart goes to them and their loved ones. The Western governments who are anxious to support the Syrian rebels should take these kidnapping s and murder of the innocent civilians into account. You rarely read about these tragic events int he western newspapers!
If Assad did not drag this thing this far none of these tragedies would have occurred. Remember how Assad reacted when this thing all began, his secret police were shooting and killing unarmed protestors for months.
so… let’s get them back. a concoction brute force, blatant disregard for the lives of the captors and the willingness of a few good men to re-establish integrity and unity within the Armenian community.