Three and a half years of terrorist abduction of 54 women and children from Lattakia come to an end

LATTAKIA – 54 women and children returned home to Lattakia late on Thursday after recently freed from terrorist abduction.

Three and a half years were the period of captivity which the women and children spent in fear, deprivation, hunger and torture after they were kidnapped by terrorist organizations that took over their villages in the northern countryside of Lattakia in August 2013, according to SANA.

 Scores of civilians were killed in the large-scale terrorist assault on the villages, while others were abducted and taken to unknown places.

A three-and-a-half year old child, who was born during captivity period, was among the 34 freed children.

With tears and songs of a long-awaited extreme happiness, the 20 freed women and their children were welcomed upon their arrival in Lattakia.

“It’s like being born again,” said Nagham Jawdan Shahada, who was abducted along with her sister and mother.

“The first thing I am going to do after I arrive in my village is to visit the tomb of my father who was killed in the terrorist attack,” she added.

“Big freedom has just started” were the words with which the child Amer Yehia expressed his happiness to have returned home from captivity.

“I will be back to school from which I was deprived because of the terrorists,” said Amer, adding that “I will work hard at school to be able to join the ranks of the Syrian army.”

Nazem Mihrez Shahad, who is a member of the Syrian army, voiced his “indescribable” happiness upon welcoming his two abducted sons Haidar and Zein al-Abidin, and his wife Diaa Sweidan.

“Today is a day of victory for Syria,” he said, expressing thanks to “all those who contributed to the freeing of the abductees.”

Kinan Shakouhi, a mother who was there to welcome her freed daughter, had also been herself kidnapped by the terrorists before she was freed at an earlier time.

Kinan opened up to SANA while waiting to meet her daughter, speaking of the extreme abuse and bad treatment she and other abducted people suffered under captivity.

“They used to threaten to kill me and my kids all the time…we were subjected to starvation and beating,” she added.

Lawyer Thabet Darwish delivered a speech on behalf of the families of the freed people in which he expressed hope that all other Syrian people kidnapped by terrorists will be freed and terrorism will be completely eliminated from Syria.

At meeting with the freed people at Dar al-Assad for Culture, Governor of Lattakia Ibrahim Khodr al-Salem said “The return of the freed people to their province andtheir presence among their families again is a victory for Syria and its army.”

He noted that the Governorate has been fully briefed on the scale of losses suffered by the locals of the villages that were attacked and “will do every possible thing to overcome the difficulties and help enable people there to go back to their normal lives against all odds.”

Earlier on the day, President Bashar al-Assad and Mrs. Asmaa al-Assad received the freed women and children, with the President stressing that their return was a moment long waited for.

“We have waited for three and a half years… there wasn’t a day that people stopped asking about you… the state with all of its institutions have been looking for you and the goal of every soldier and martyr was your return,” he said.

“We want you to be an example of steadfastness and determination, and patriotism, and you actually are,” the President added.