January 01, 2015 12:46
A
freshly released video apparently shows two young female aid workers abducted
in Syria last summer, appealing for the Italian government to save their lives.
The
video, uploaded to YouTube on December 31, shows two young women dressed in
black clothes covering their entire bodies except faces and hands. One,
apparently Vanessa Marzullo, is reading a brief statement in English, while the
other, apparently Greta Ramelli, is holding a piece of paper that reads
“17.12.14 Wednesday.”
“We
are Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo,” Marzullo says in the 24-second video
clip. “We supplicate our government and its mediators to bring us home before
Christmas. We are in big danger and we could be killed. The government and
mediators are responsible for our lives.”
The
Italian Foreign Ministry declined to immediately confirm the authenticity of
the video. Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper talked to Marzullo’s father,
Salvatore, who said he had “no words” in response to the video.
Vanessa Marzullo, 21 (left) and Greta Ramelli, 20,
(right) were working on humanitarian projects in Syria (Photo from Facebook
page)
Marzullo
and Ramelli, both 21, were abducted near Aleppo in northern Syria on the night
of August 1, three days after arriving there with a humanitarian mission. For
both it was their second trip to the war-torn country.
Since
then, the two women have been reportedly sold on by several militant groups
operating in Syria, La Repubblica says, citing Arab media. They are believed to
be currently held either by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front or their
fearsome allies, Islamic State.
Among
their other atrocities, Islamic State is notorious for staging executions of
foreign hostages for propaganda videos. It was not immediately clear whether
the Christmas deadline set in the statement was observed, or whether missing it
resulted in any repercussions for the hostages.
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