By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com)
SYRIA (ANS. MAY 3)
Assyrian church leaders are reporting that ISIS has rejected a ransom
offer for the 230 Assyrians it captured on Feb. 23 in the Hasaka
province of Syria.
According to a story by the Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA), 253 Assyrians were captured in the initial attacks on the 35
Assyrian villages on the Khabur river. Twenty three were subsequently
released, but 230 remain in captivity, including 52 children, 84 females
and 95 males.
ISIS has demanded 100,000 US dollars for each hostage, for a total of 23 million.
Leading the negotiations with ISIS is Bishop Mellis of Australia.
AINA reported that in an interview with SBS Radio in Australia, Mellis
said “We are a poor nation. These people have not done anything wrong
and won't harm anyone. We as Assyrians do not have this amount of money
you are asking for.”
Mellis said a settlement offer was made for an undisclosed amount.
“With the amount we offered, we thought it was acceptable, to have the
return of the 230 people. After two days, they (ISIS) told us, ‘The
amount the church offered was not acceptable. From now on, we will no
longer negotiate with you.”
The hostages have been moved to Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold in
Syria, and are now awaiting trial in Islamic court under Sharia law,
where a Muslim judge will decide their fate.
AINA said that desperate church leaders have pleaded for assistance
neighboring countries, including Turkey, in securing the release of the
Assyrian hostages.
Assyrian Candlelight Vigil Held in Melbourne, Australia
Victoria's
Assyrian community came together at a Candlelight Vigil, in solidarity
with the 200,000 displaced Assyrians in Northern Iraq and the 230
Assyrian hostages held by the Islamic State in north-eastern Syria.
The event was held at Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne's
Central Business District, and drew a large crowd of supporters.
AINA said the event was attended by representatives of a wide
number of Assyrian churches and organizations, as well as members of
Victoria's Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Kurdish and Alevi communities.
Representatives of the Victorian Council of Churches and the
international aid organization Act for Peace were also present, along
with supporters from the wider Australian population.
AINA said the event was well received, with the program including a
minute of silence in honor of all suffering persecution and
displacement, the reading of poetry and biblical reflections and prayer.
For more information visit www.aina.org
Photo captions: 1) Assyrian Church of the East Bishop Mellis of
Australia (Photo AINA). 2) Part of a candlelight vigil held in
Melbourne, Australia (Photo: AINA)
Abour the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent
for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and
CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org
. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New
Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in
Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional
details on "From Destitute to Ph.D." are available at http://www.myhomelessjourney.com . Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@gmail.com .
** You may republish this or any of our stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
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