01/02/2015, 00.00
SYRIA - ITALY
Send to a friend

Online video raises fears about the fate of abducted Italian aid workers

The tape shows that the two women are still alive, but the claim that they are held by the al Nusra front seems unreliable. The decision to post the video could be an attempt to pressure the Italian government or an offer "to sell" them to other groups.

Rome (AsiaNews) - Fear is growing in Italy over the fate of Vanessa Marzullo and Greta Ramelli, two Italian aid workers abducted five months ago in Syria, after a video was posted online in which the two ask the Italian government for help and express fear of being killed.

Titled 'al Nusra Front detains two Italian employees because of their government's participation in the coalition against it,' the 23-second video shows one of the two women holding a piece of paper with the date 17 12 14 (17 December 2014), Wednesday.

The YouTube posting shows that the two women are still alive, but the claim that they are held by the al Nusra Front appears unreliable because it was not posted on any official accounts belonging to the group, which is al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.

In previous hostage videos by the group, detainees were shown in front of an al Nusra's flag.

The decision to post the video online could be an attempt to pressure the Italian government or an offer "to sell" them to other groups.

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
For Fr Tom, abducted in Yemen, Holy Thursday prayer and adoration for the martyrs
21/03/2016 14:57
Maaloula sisters in Yabrud, Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate reports
04/12/2013
Patriarch Laham: We will not forget and pray for the abducted bishops
21/04/2016 09:56
BREAKING NEWS: Not all Christian hostages in Syria freed, more families abducted
09/03/2015
IS abducts 150 Christians, rapes and kills women, a "tragic situation" for vicar to Aleppo
25/02/2015


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”