Armenians Kidnapped near Aleppo

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed reports that on Oct. 29, 10 passengers from a bus traveling from Beirut to Aleppo, among them 7 Armenians, were kidnapped. Five of the Armenian passengers have been identified, according to ArmenPress, which quoted the press secretary for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Tigran Balayan. The names of the kidnapped passengers are: Garo Pampalian, Arsen Aroyan, Levon Zeitounian, and father and son Bashar and George Rabat.

Tigran Balayan announced that five of the kidnapped have been identified.

Jirair Reisian, the spokesperson for Aleppo’s Armenian Prelacy, has reported that one of the other Armenians kidnapped goes by the name of Koko. Reisian confirmed that some of the kidnapped are still unknown, and that community leaders are working on securing the safe return of the victims to Aleppo. There are rumors that among those abducted are a Kurd and an Assyrian.

Different reports have put the number of abducted between 10 and 12, with some claiming that 2 of the passengers were Syrian Christians, 2 Kurds, and the remaining Armenian.

Reisian also denied that the kidnappers have demanded ransom.

According to other reports, the kidnappers have demanded that the government release 150 prisoners within 3 days in exchange for the kidnapped. Otherwise they have threatened to kill the 10 men.

According to sources, the armed men were clad in black. Having stopped the bus (owned by “Zeitouni Tours,” an Armenian owned tour bus company), they ordered the women to leave the vehicle. They beat the remaining male passengers who were made to kneel, before driving away with them in a separate van. The bus was about half an hour from Aleppo.

25 Comments

  1. There are reports by US journalists that US Amb. Stevens was involved with weapons transfers from Libya to Syrian anti-government forces via Turkey, and reports from the Russian FSB that Syrian anti-government forces are receiving heaver weapons for which Turkey and Qatar would have to get US approval to provide. So let’s add it up: the US has aided and abetted the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis in Egypt, then in Libya, and now Syria, causing the Christians in the Middle East immense suffering (more than the usual suffering of dhimmis in Muslim dominated countries). Egyptian journalists have reported (until shut down by Morsi) that Coptic Christians are being crucified in Egypt by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood allies. So what do we Armenian Americans argue about? To vote for Obama or Romney? It won’t make any difference, they agree on foreign policy, a policy that will continue to favor the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis that say the right soothing words to gullible Western ears. Morsi’s allies are talking about solving the Christian problem in Egypt; doesn’t that remind us of what happened in the 20th century, to us in WW1 and the Jews in WW2? Do we only wake up after mass murder has already started? And the US is supporting it, while lying to itself (cognitive dissonance!) that ‘they’re secular movements’, that ‘it’s bringing democracy’ to the Middle East. So go ahead, get excited about the election, and don’t think about who is supporting the forces that in Syria are kidnapped Armenians, abducting Christian girls to force into a Muslim marriage, bombing Churches and killing Christians. Hint: it’s not the Syrian government.

  2. Sad and bad news.
    Hope the local responsible bodies will initiate immediate release of these innocent citizens.

    • How did you determine they were innocent citizens and not soldiers from Armenia? I do not think they were on a tourism trip into a country torn by civil war.

    • how did _you_ determine they were soldiers from Armenia and not innocent citizens ?
      you actually think soldiers from Armenia would travel to Syria in an Armenian owned tour bus ?
      there is no need for RoA soldiers to go to Syria: lots of tough Lebanese-Armenian fighters are right next door, if need be.
      and Syrian-Armenians can defend themselves also: but they wisely don’t want to get involved in a civil war, despite constant attempts to provoke them.

      For example, by burning an Armenian church.
      Who did that Yakub H (Armenian from Damascus) ? Did soldier from RoA do that too ?

  3. Turkey is backing up the oppositon and they will use them to destroy the armenian community. Armenians in Syria better arm themselves and protect their families.

  4. And these people get the label Syrian Free Army. They are bunch of extremist terrorist that we label militants. These people are animals without command or direction. Syria must remain intact from foreign indirect war that is funded and supported by enemies of peace and stability, and not the ones that love preaching it here but doing the opposite there. Turks must really proud with US support for their expansion into Syria and they feel the good old Ottoman days since its renaming in the process of genocide so they can have something to point back on. To Armenian they remained same Turks with same agenda doesn’t matter what monsters head was there before, during and after the Armenian genocide.

    • “Turks must really proud with US support for their expansion into Syria and they feel the good old Ottoman days since its renaming in the process of genocide so they can have something to point back on. Armenian they remained same Turks with same agenda doesn’t matter what monsters head was there before, during and after the Armenian genocide.”

      Most people in Turkey are not proud or feeling good of the involvement of Turkey in the Syrian conflict. You live in a made up world where Turks want to destroy Armenia or Armenians. It usually happens when you are away from the events and feed yourself with hatred over and over; and in the end you demonize an entire population.

    • Alexander

      Your hatered is consuming you and blocking your reason. Remember that Russia is backing the Assad regime. Russia also controls the current Armenian government. Iwill not be surprised if they turn to be soldiers sent to fight with the Assad regime against the Syrian people. I do not think they were touring the civil war in Syria. Also, we should ask the Armenian President how does his government know the names of the kidnapped Armenians? Unless he sent them.

      The Armenian government is jeopordizing our relationship with the Arab Muslim people who took our fathers and mothers in when they were being murdered.

    • tokado:

      “You live in a made up world where Turks want to destroy Armenia or Armenians.”

      we live in a real world where Turks exterminated 2 million Armenians.
      but since you Deny the Armenian Genocide, you live in a made up Turkish world where there was no AG: you remember denying the AG previously, Yes ?

      and Turks continued and continue their campaign to snuff out Armenians everywhere after 1923, including RoA, NKR, and Middle East.

    • Yacub,first of all you are not an Armenian from Damascus & you cannot cheat us.Myself being an Armenian from Lebanon know very well that these kidnapped people are innocent civilians.The kidnapped are Syrian Armenians returning from Lebanon & they are not tourists.How do we know their names?We have an Armenian community representative in Aleppo by the name of Jirair Reisian who’s been passing the news.Stop muddying the waters as it is very disgusting.Armenia sending soldiers?You’re out of your mind.
      For your information there are many Turkomans & Circassians as well kidnapped by the same jihadists.

    • Yacub,

      Where did you read that those Armenians were soldiers from Armenia or people sent from Armenia? As to how Armenian government knew the names of kidnapped Armenians-are you that naive? Kidnapped people told their names to rebels or the rebels took their passports away. It seems that you have problem with reasoning not Alexander. Armenian government is not jeopardizing your relationship with Arab Muslim people it is trying to help Armenians there.

    • Tokado,

      You and many other Turks like you do not want to destroy Armenia or Armenians- your government does. Very much like in 1915-majority of ordinary Turks did not want to slaughter and deport Armenians but your genocidal leaders wanted and they did it.

    • I agree with tokado that majority of Turks are against war with Syria & there has been several demonstrations against war.
      However Turkish PM & FM keep on meddling in Syria’s affairs & continue on supplying arms to the Syrian government’s opponents & allow jihadists to cross from Turkey to Syria.To this day they only caused harm to the innocent Syrian civilians.At present you have more than 600,000 thousand refugees in Jordan,Lebanon,Turkey,Iraq & Egypt.In Jordan & Turkey they’re in tent camps & winter is on the doorstep.God help them.Syria is destroyed,its economy is shattered & the list goes on.Ask the innocent civilian from whatever denomination:which was better the present of the past.Shame on criminal politicians.

    • I agree with tokado that majority of Turks are against war with Syria & there has been several demonstrations against war.
      However Turkish PM & FM keep on meddling in Syria’s affairs & continue on supplying arms to the Syrian government’s opponents & allow jihadists to cross from Turkey to Syria.To this day they only caused harm to the innocent Syrian civilians.At present you have more than 600,000 thousand refugees in Jordan,Lebanon,Turkey,Iraq & Egypt.In Jordan & Turkey they’re in tent camps & winter is on the doorstep.God help them.Syria is destroyed,its economy is shattered & the list goes on.Ask the innocent civilian from whatever denomination:which was better the present of the past.Shame on criminal politicians.

    • Sella,

      I don’t think that the Turkish government has the goal of destroying Armenia or Armenians. Turkish prime minister wants to be the leader of the muslim world, and assemble the old emperor-like powers to himself. They try to make the population more religious, which causes the side effect of a distrust to christian communities inside and outside of Turkey.

    • Tokado,

      I disagree with you. Your government wants and is working on destroying Armenia and Armenians. It wanted to invade Armenia in 1993, but Russians told them to backup. If Turkish government has the green light to invade Armenia it will do so within hours. I have no doubts.

  5. I totally agree with Alexander’s comments and want to add, that beside US , the
    Jewish Zionist forces and interests are behind all these so called Arabic Spring,
    in order to command their hegemony through Middle East and Northern Africa…

  6. Where is The CNN, CNBC, ABC, CBS, Reuters…. Where are they??? why don’t they broadcast this news?? Is it because they don’t want to reveal the truth to the world how criminal & Barbaric these so called free rebel fighters are? Or is it because this news will cripple the conspiracy!

  7. This is an opportunity for “ARF” to send Mardagan Commandos and save them….. Then in GOD’s will they succeed, Armenian people in Armenia would praise and Vote to ARF to be the New Armenian Government!

    • Really? you forgot to finish your statement with…..(And they lived happily everafter) .

  8. @ Yacub H. The kidnapped Armenian men lived in Syria and are Syrian citizens and were traveling home and not touring Syria to see the so called foreign revolution there, they had Armenian women with them, these women know the names of the kidnapped men obviously and thats how the Armenian government knows their names.. Please use your brain next time. I highly doubt your an Armenian from Damascus.

  9. Yacub,first of all you are not an Armenian from Damascus & you cannot cheat us.Myself being an Armenian from Lebanon know very well that these kidnapped people are innocent civilians.The kidnapped are Syrian Armenians returning from Lebanon & they are not tourists.How do we know their names?We have an Armenian community representative in Aleppo by the name of Jirair Reisian who’s been passing the news.Stop muddying the waters as it is very disgusting.Armenia sending soldiers?You’re out of your mind.
    For your information there are many Turkomans & Circassians as well kidnapped by the same jihadists.

    • VTiger,

      Human psychology is an interesting thing, isn’t it?
      Yacub H., In his first post dating back Oct 31st put only his name, Yacub H., but later on even he realized that he did not sound as an Armenian and had the urge to add “Armenian from Damascus” to his name in his second post:-)

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