By Hollie McKay / Fox News It's been more than five years
now since the two most important figures in Syria's Christian communities were
kidnapped in a no-man's land between rebel and regime-held territory, whisked
away without a trace - and not heard from since .
It was broadly assumed Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Archbishop Boulos
Yazigi - respective heads of the Syriac and Greek Orthodox Churches in Aleppo
-- were captured by ISIS or al-Qaeda, both of whom have a vicious history of
persecuting Christians. But some of those who have investigated the case are
now questioning the validity of that long-held theory, and asking if the Syrian
government of Bashar al-Assad might have been involved.
"I do not think ISIS is behind the kidnapping. There were no terrorist
methods used. They were taken in a very professional manner," Jamil Elias
Diarbakerli, executive director of the Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights, told
Fox News. "No terrorist organization that can hide such important bishops
as Ibrahim and Yazigi for five years without any real information leaking
out."
The archbishops were abducted on April 23, 2013, near the Syrian-Turkish,
border while en route to negotiate with rebels on the release of two other
missing priests -- fathers Michael Kayyal and Maher Mahfouz. Those two were
kidnapped that February, and have also not been heard from.
"Archbishop Boulos Yazigi was finishing a pastoral visit and they had
agreed to travel back together in Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim's car,"
recalled Jeff King, President of International Christian Concern (ICC).
As the car neared Aleppo, their vehicle was stopped by four armed
insurgents. They were forced out of their cars while their driver, Deacon
Father Allah Kabboud -- was immediately killed by assailants bearing
"Caucasian" features, according to witnesses.
"Because the car and driver belonged to Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, it
is widely believed that he was the primary target," said King.
As the Syrian war was escalating at that time, Ibrahim had reportedly
become the only high-ranking Christian prelate to call for Assad to step down.
Just 10 days before his abduction, on April 13, he conducted a BBC interview in
which he chastised the Assad government's brutality in the then year-long
conflict.
"I had at first hoped that this regime would be wiser than they are
currently acting and that they would do something just to end the
bloodshed," Ibrahim said.
One Syrian political figure, who was once involved in Damascus religious
matters before defecting, echoed a growing - but unverifiable - notion the
government had good cause to "silence" Ibrahim, but make it appear as
though militiants were responsible.
The questions of who took the archbishops, and why, have gone unanswered
since no ransom demands were ever made - despite the fact radical groups
captured and released other Christian officials during that time.
In December 2013, 13 nuns were abducted by masked al-Qaeda rebels in the
ancient Christian Syrian town of Maaloula. The nuns appeared in a video shortly
thereafter, claiming to be in good health. They were released three months
later in a prisoner exchange, brokered by the Syrian government, which in turn
freed more than 100 women associated with rebel families.
Other clergy were also captured and released, with the "going
rate" for a priest reported to be around $200,000.
Numerous activists have expressed concern -- and suspicion -- over why more
isn't being said publicly by the Syrian government, given the high-ranking
status of the archbishops. One church investigator, who requested anonymity due
to the sensitivity of the matter, said "no one gets a clean bill of
health" until the priests -- who the church believes to be alive -- are
found.
A spokesperson for the Syrian Government and UN Mission in New York did not
respond to a request for comment.
Archpriest Thomas Zain, Vicar General of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese and Dean of St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral of Brooklyn, New York,
said that while there has been absolutely no news since the abductions, Syrian
Church officials have continued to painstakingly raise the matter with Western
intelligence. They remain "hopeful" some evidence may be revealed as
the Syrian government captures more opposition-held areas.
John Newton, Senior Press Officer for the British organization Aid to the
Church in Need, contended there is little doubt the archbishops were taken by
extremists. But he also acknowledged that by now ISIS would have likely
"made some propaganda use" of their hostages.
SYRIAN OPPOSITION, OUT OF JAIL SPACE, FEARS THREAT OF RELEASED ISIS
PRISONERS
LIFE AFTER ISIS: CHRISTIANS SAY THEY CAN'T GO HOME WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL
PROTECTION
One Middle East expert said he believed the archbishops may have been
passed around a number of groups over the years, pawns in a game of political
warfare.
"It is believed Yazigi and Ibrahim were taken by Jabhat al-Nusra,
al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, and Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiya was
reported to be mediating with al-Nusra for their release," said Kyle
Orton, an expert on the Middle East. "Al-Attiya's efforts reportedly came
to nothing when the bishops fell into the hands of ISIS. And if that is true,
there is little reason to suppose they are alive at this stage."
The continued silence has many of Syria's Christian faithful pondering who
might be able to tell them more about what happened, and fearful of the fate of
others who have gone missing.
In July, 2013, Italian Jesuit Priest Father Paolo also vanished from
alleged militant hands, without any known ransom demands having been made.
Paolo had entered what would later be deemed the ISIS "caliphate"
capital of Raqqa, Syria in an effort to negotiate the release of two kidnapped
French journalists. He, also, was never heard from again.
But some activists insist Paolo's case is different than that of the
archbishops.
"He was kidnapped in an area under the control of the ISIS
terrorists," Diarbakerli said, noting that the information -- while still
unconfirmed -- that they have received from ISIS dissidents was that he was
killed, and the body discarded.
Numerous reports have suggested Paolo was killed in the immediate days
after entering Raqqa. But it is now approaching one year since Raqqa was
liberated, and and to date, there has been no sign of the three Christian
leaders.
Nonetheless, bodies and mass graves are still frequently being unearthed
from the rubble. And those involved in the investigations are calling for more
support from the U.S. and international community.
"Forced disappearance is a crime against humanity," Rev. Father
Samuel, who heads up the investigation committee run by the Syriac Orthodox
Church, said. "We need international pressure for their safe release. This
was not an opportunistic act or a coincidental kidnapping, but a strategically
calculated one."
Dr. Tenzin Dorjee, Chair of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF), said the matter is indeed one of "deep
concern."
"We continue to hope for the safe return of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio,
Archbishops Paul Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim, and all those targeted for
abduction based on their religious identity," he added.
"Heart-wrenching cases like these underscore the pressing need for the
U.S. government to continue supporting international efforts to investigate
gross violations during conflict and hold perpetrators accountable."