Foreign Ministry: Syria Will Continue to Confront Organized Takfiri Terrorism

The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry on Wednesday sent two identical letters addressed to the UN Security Council President and the UN Secretary General, on the abduction of Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo and Iskenderun, Bishop Paul Yazigi, and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Bishop John Ibrahim by an armed group affiliated with Jabhet al-Nusra.

The letters said that an armed group led by Chechen terrorists intercepted the car transporting the Bishops on Monday April 22, 2013, in the western part of Aleppo city while the two were on their way back from a humanitarian mission, with the terrorists murdering the deacon who was driving the car and taking the Bishops to an unknown location.

The Ministry affirmed that this crime is part of the exteremist terrorist activity carried out by armed group affiliated with Jabhet al-Nusra and their foreign mercenaries, and that regional countries are supporting these terrorists’ activities which are based on dark Takfriri mentality and target the symbols of coexistence and tolerance, noting that this is part of the plot which recently targeted Islamic scholar Dr. Mohammad Saeed Ramadan al-Bouti.

The Ministry stressed that Syria is determined to confront this organized Takfiri terrorism which targets its national unity and the cohesion of its society which is culturally, religiously and ethnically diverse, pointing out that this diversity has been a characteristic of Syria for hundreds of years and represents a model of coexistence in the region.

The letters said that Syria is motivated in this by its people’s awareness and determination to confront exclusionist extremist mentality which terrorist groups seek to spread and which spares no sanctities, including places of worship.

The Ministry called for putting an end to the terrorism of armed groups, warning against ithe repercussions of this extremism which knows no boundaries and hoping that the Security Council will issue a clear statement that expresses the international community’s rejection of such crimes, voices determination to hold its perpetrators and their supporters accountable, and calls all countries to adhere to their legal obligations to refrain from providing any form of support to terrorism regardless of location, time or justifications.

The letters were concluded by affirming that Syria affirms that political settlement based on dialogue among Syrians and led by Syrians requires a cessation of the violence perpetrated by the Al Qaeda-affiliated armed terrorist groups, which requires exerting pressure on the countries which provide all sorts of support to these groups so that they can stop escalating violence and terrorism through their financial support and their providing political and media cover for it.