43 Assyran Christians who were abducted one year ago by the Islamic State in Northern Syria were freed on Monday.
The released captives, many of whom were women and children, are among the last of 230 who had been abducted from several villages near Tal Tamr last February.
Younan Talia from the Assyrian Democratic Organization confirms that the remaining captives were released, according to the Associated Press.
“No hostages remain and any reports quoting other figures to the contrary are unsubstantiated," the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO), who had been a part of the negotiating process for the release, said in a Facebook post on Monday.
“ACERO wishes to extend its unreserved thanks to all those supporters, both institutional and individual, who have stood with the Assyrians of Syria in this arduous 12-month period,” ACERO said in a statement on Facebook.
“While this news thankfully marks the end of the most recent tribulation, we mourn the tremendous losses, both human and material, suffered by the indigenous Assyrians of Syria. The destruction of their livelihoods in the historic Khabur villages is a loss for the Assyrian nation and for Syria as a whole,” it continued.
Today, Syrian Christians make up about 10% of Syria’s population of 22 million.
