Syria says only 25 free in exchange for nuns

Nuns, who were freed after being held by rebels for over three months, arrive at the Syrian border with Lebanon at the Jdaydeh Yaboos crossing, early March 10, 2014. - Reuters / Khaled al-Hariri — Nuns, who were freed after being held by rebels for over three months, arrive at the Syrian border with Lebanon at the Jdaydeh Yaboos crossing, early March 10, 2014. – Reuters / Khaled al-Hariri

Syria freed only 25 prisoners, not 150 as had been reported, in exchange for a group of kidnapped nuns, the country’s information minister Omran al-Zoubi has said. The statement came despite mediators and the opposition saying 150 female detainees had been freed in exchange for the nuns, who were kidnapped from the town of Maalula by rebel fighters last year.
“The number of people released in exchange for the Maalula nuns is not more than 25 people, whose hands had not been stained by the blood of the Syrian people,” state news agency SANA quoted Zoubi as saying.

“Everything that has been said on this issue is not accurate and has been exaggerated.”
His remarks directly contradicted comments made by Lebanon’s General Security chief Ibrahim Abbas, who mediated the exchange and said more than 150 prisoners were freed under the deal.

Opponents close to the exchange operation also said on Monday that 141 women detainees and an unspecified “small” number of men had been released in exchange for the 13 nuns and three maids kidnapped from the ancient Christian town in December.

Zoubi also denied reports the deal had been secured thanks to a mediation process involving Qatar, which is a key backer of the uprising against Syria’s government. — AFP