Cardinal Rai calls for the release of Turkish pilots alongside Aazaz hostages

       
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rai celebrated a Sunday mass in Mourouj whereby he stressed the need to end conflicts in Lebanon, hoping that all countries in the Middle East will enjoy peace, steering clear of violence and terrorism.         

Cardinal Rai also called for the release of the two Turkish nationals alongside the Lebanese hostages in Syria's Aazaz and the two bishops abducted in Syria.            

In this regard, cardinal Rai recalled the speech of President Michel Sleiman who tackled the crises Lebanon is going through, urging all the Lebanese political parties to take them into consideration.            

On Friday 9th of August at 3 am, gunmen intercepted a Turkish Airlines bus at Cocodi Bridge in Beirut and kidnapped two crew members, a pilot and a co-pilot, both are Turkish nationals. The bus carrying the crew members was heading from Beirut international airport toward a hotel in Ain El-Mrayseh.
         
While well-informed sources linked the abduction to the case of the Lebanese hostages held in Aazaz, the relatives of the Aazaz hostages denied being involved in the operation.