Syrian Armenians kidnapped on Syria-Turkey border

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS: The kidnappings of the Syrian Armenians continue on the Turkish border. This was reported to Armenpress by the employee of the Aleppo’s Kantsasar Weekly Zarmik Poghikyan. “On July 28 in the morning a small bus left from Aleppo to Turkey, in which there were 3 Armenian families – 7 women and 2 teenagers. On the Turkish border the bus was made to stop. The militants kidnapped the 14 and 12-year-old children and released the women, who are in Turkey now. We have no information about the young people for now”, - said Zarmik Poghikyan.

During the last week the Syrian Armenians suffered considerable losses: in the result of the bus attack an Armenian woman was killed, 17 people were wounded. A child was wounded by a random bullet and on July 26 four Armenian men were kidnapped by the militants and Armenian women were directed to a pub in a Turkish province instead of coming to Yerevan.

By the UN data, during the two-year bloodshed in Syria by April 2013 more than 100 thousands of people have fallen victims. Currently 4,5 million refugees live in Syria and 1,5 million – in the neighboring countries. Several tens of Armenians have been killed in the result of the collisions. Notwithstanding that difficult situation, many Syrian Armenians continue leaving in Syria. The governmental forces try to liberate Aleppo from the opposition. Every day heated collisions and bombings are taking place, causing sufferings of the peaceful population, the Armenians as well. As a result of the recent explosions three Armenians were wounded.