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Archbishops' Abduction Should Be A Warning to Turkey

The abduction of two Syrian archbishops by armed men on their way to Aleppo while returning from Turkey should be a warning to Ankara that it needs to review its security policies, writes Kadri Gursel.

Turkish soldiers block a road to Cilvegozu border gate near the town of Reyhanli on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province February 11, 2013. A Syrian minibus exploded at Cilvegozu border post on Turkey's border with Syria near the Turkish town of Reyhanli on Monday, killing at least 13 people including Turkish citizens and wounding dozens more, Turkish officials said. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST DISASTER) - RTR3DNGS
Turkish soldiers block a road to Cilvegozu border gate near the town of Reyhanli on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Feb. 11, 2013. — REUTERS/Umit Bektas

While this article was being written on the last day of April, there was still no news about the fates of Greek Orthodox Archbishop for Aleppo Iskenderun Pavlos Yazici and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo Yuhanna Ibrahim [Yohanna Ibrahim], who were kidnapped in that city by armed men on April 22. It is not known if they are alive or who kidnapped them. No organization or group has claimed responsibility.

What is known and heard about the incident so far can be summarized as:

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