HATAY, Turkey
It is heart wrenching for a doleful Syrian mother of seven whose spouse had been jailed for three years in Syria to know that her eldest son has been kidnapped by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) two and a half months ago.
Fatima Sheiho, a Syrian refugee who has sheltered in Turkey after fleeing the civil war in Syria with her seven children, told Anadolu Agency that she is waiting for news from her husband and son.
She said her son, Tariq Sheiho, is a journalist who supplies photographs and video footage to Arab media in Latakia and various websites. She laments that she has not received any news from him for 75 days.
The tearful mother with her son's photo in her hands said she agonizes over her son's kidnapping, the second tragedy to hit her family since her husband's arrest since 2011.
"I don't know why my son has been kidnapped and I pray everyday for him," she stated, desperately asking help from Turkish and Syrian officials to release him.
The 10-year old family member, Mohamed said he misses his father and brother. This human tragedy is typical of the plights of many desperate families who have been separated as a result of the Syrian conflict.
More than 100,000 people have been killed since the conflict between opposition forces and the regime of Bashar al-Assad began on March 2011 and over 2.5 million Syrians have registered as refugees in neighboring countries or are awaiting registration, while displacement inside Syria has reached more than 6.5 million, according to the U.N.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
