Nuns Missing in Syria Resurface in Video
Had left with rebels and are safe with a Christian family
Twelve nuns who vanished recently from the ancient Aramaic-speaking Syrian town of Maaloula resurfaced on Friday in a video, saying that they had left with rebels to escape shelling in the area and were safe with a Christian family in a nearby rebel-held town.
The fate of the nuns has become the latest mysterious and polarizing incident in the war, with the government accusing Islamist insurgents of kidnapping them to target Christians, rebels saying they are protected guests, and even Pope Francis calling for their swift return.
What no one disputes is that the nuns left Maaloula on Tuesday with insurgents who had just re-entered the town, which has been contested over the past several months between rebels and government forces. Until then, the nuns had been practically the only civilians left in the town, huddled in their convent, Mar Takla, retreating to rooms built deep into cliffs when shelling broke out.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?