TT On-The-Go
TT Feed
| Militants kidnap father of Syrian deputy FM |
|
 |
 |
 |
Font Size 
 Foreign-sponsored militants on Saturday abducted the elderly father of Syria's deputy foreign minister, the official's office said, in the latest kidnapping targeting family members of figures in President al-Bashar Assad's government.
The father of Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was seized Saturday in the village of Ghossom in the southern province of Daraa, Mekdad's office said, The Associated Press reported.
An official in the office said the man is in his 80s, but he did not know his name.
The abduction was also reported by Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, which has several reporters in Syria and is seen as sympathetic to the government.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but armed rebels in Syria have targeted senior government officials or members of their families in the past for kidnapping or assassination in the past.
Last year, rebels carried out one of the highest-profile attacks against government officials to date, detonating a bomb inside a high-level crisis meeting that killed four advisers of Assad, including the defense minister and the president's brother-in-law.
The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.
The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.
In an interview broadcast on Turkish television on April 5, Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades.
“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.
  Socialize this Subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch and receive all of TT updates right in your feed reader
|