The Islamic State has released 43 Assyrian Christians, the
last in a group of hostages captured almost exactly one year ago.
"No hostages
remain and any reports quoting other figures to the contrary are
unsubstantiated," the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation
(ACERO) said today.
"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," a statement from the
organisation added.
Christian Today reports that the Islamic State has been
slowly releasing the roughly 200 hostages which were taken from the Khabour
River valley on February 23, 2015. The 43 recently released hostages are the
last of those taken captive from the region.
According to an anonymous Assyrian source who spoke to
Newsweek, the Islamic State received money in exchange for the release of the
captives, although the amount was not confirmed.
The militants initially demanded an exorbitant amount of
ransom money--$23 million--for the release of the captives. The Assyrian
community was unable to meet this demand, and so the militants lowered the
amount to between $12 and $14 million.
Although the hostages have been released, there is much
still to be done.
"We now begin to focus on re-building lives, and we
start this by pressuring the United Nations to recognize the ongoing genocide
taking place against these minorities who are tired of running,” stated the
human rights group, A Demand for Action (ADFA).
"We must take action to bring awareness to what is
really taking place in the Middle East. After the EU passed the resolution to
recognize the atrocities taking place as genocide, it's now up to the United
Nations turn to show true leadership and answer the calls and cries of all
those whom have been affected and continue to be affected. The persecution of
minorities must end."
Source: Christian Headlines
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