Relatives of Aazaz Pilgrims Urge Captors of Turkish Pilots to Allow Loves Ones to Contact Them
The relatives of the kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria's Aazaz region urged on Monday the abductors of the two Turkish pilots to allow the captives to contact their families on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
“In light of the suffering we felt after the abduction of our loved ones, we call on the captors to offer their families a recording or any other method to reassure them of their safety,” they said in a statement.
It noted that Eid al-Adha unites all Muslims and should serve as an occasion for the kidnappers to demonstrate their goodwill.
They concluded by hoping that the cases of the Aazaz pilgrims and the Turkish pilots will be resolved and that all captives will be reunited with their families.
In May 2012, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of them have since been released, while the remaining nine pilgrims are being held in Aazaz.
On August 9, a Turkish pilot and co-pilot were kidnapped by gunmen in Beirut.
Six gunmen intercepted a van carrying the Turkish Airlines employees from Rafik Hariri International Airport to a hotel in the Ain Mreisseh seafront, kidnapping the two pilots - Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca - but leaving the four other crew members behind.
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