Syria Describes Bishops Abduction as 'National Matter', Criticizes Lebanon

Syria expressed resentment over Lebanon's exploitation of the case of the two kidnapped bishops, who are Syrians, An Nahar newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, Syria stressed that the case of the Bishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, who were kidnapped by armed men in Syria in April, is “a national Syrian matter,” which Lebanon is interfering in.

The daily reported that a meeting held between General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and Syrian President Bashar Assad was “good.”

“The meeting focused on the case of the two abducted bishops,” Ibrahim said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

He described the meeting as “positive and fruitful.”

Ibrahim said that Assad expressed readiness to exert efforts to help the release of the two bishops.

As Safir reported that Ibrahim is expected to visit several countries to push the case forward, including Qatar.

An Nahar newspaper reported that the two bishops were abducted by a radical Chechen faction led by Mohammed Akroff.

Ibrahim and Yazigi were kidnapped on April 23 in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo while they were on a humanitarian work.