01/16/2020 Syria (International Christian Concern) – A private team led by a Syrian researcher has published the results of a journalistic investigation that traces the story of two bishops of Aleppo who disappeared in 2013, according to Fides. Much mystery has shrouded their disappearance. While some still hope that the bishops are alive, most have concluded that the priests were most likely killed by militiamen.

This recent investigation does include some information that has long been suspected but which these researchers confirmed in their own study. The research team notes the kidnapping took place in an area which was a “receptacle for foreign secret services,” and that local militiamen all operated with their support. This is an indirect hint that MIT, Turkish Intelligence Services, likely had a role in the priests’ disappearances.

Kidnappings of Christian leadership have been a common feature of Syria’s Civil War, which began in 2011. Christian disappearances have occurred across the entire conflict, regardless of whether it occurred in regime-held territory or not. The fate of several remain unknown. Most Christians have fled Syria, with no intention of returning should the conflict ever resolve itself.

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