A world wide appeal has been initiated by the Bishop Marayati, Armenian Catholic, of Aleppo for the release of Fr Michael Kayyal who was kidnapped on 9th February 2013 by an Islamic rebel group located some 30 kilometres from the above-mentioned city.
The rebels have made contact with the Archbishop and informed him to mediate with the Syrian authorities with the aim of securing the release of 15 rebel fighters from Syrian prisons. The rebels also made financial demands to the tune of 15,000,000 million Syrian pounds ($250,000 approx).
On February 20, 2013 the rebels allowed Fr Michael to contact his mother for only one minute to prove that he is still alive.