Red Cross Pleads for Info on 3 Syrian Staffers Captured by Daesh 5 Years Ago

GENEVA (Sputnik) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has requested information about three of its staff members who were abducted in Syria by the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) over five years ago.

"ICRC is making a public call for information about three staff members abducted in Syria more than five years ago… The three were traveling in a Red Cross convoy that was delivering supplies to medical facilities in Idlib, north-western Syria, when armed men stopped the vehicles on 13 October 2013. The gunmen abducted seven people; four were released the next day," the statement, released late on Sunday, read. 

We received information in December that Louisa was still alive. Sadly we never learned more about Alaa and Nabil.

Louisa, a dedicated nurse from New Zealand, joined the Red Cross over 30 years ago. Alaa and Nabil, loving fathers, were drivers vital to our aid delivery in Syria.

— ICRC (@ICRC) 14 апреля 2019 г.

The captured staff members include Louisa Akavi, a nurse from New Zealand as well as Syrian nationals Alaa Rajab and Nabil Bakdounes, who worked as drivers for the Red Cross, according to the statement.  

READ MORE: Fight Against Daesh Not Over, US to Remain in Syria in Limited Numbers — Envoy

"The past five and a half years have been an extremely difficult time for the families of our three abducted colleagues. Louisa is a true and compassionate humanitarian. Alaa and Nabil were committed colleagues and an integral part of our aid deliveries… We ask that anyone with information please come forward. If our colleagues are still being held, we call for their immediate and unconditional release," said Dominik Stillhart, ICRC's director of operations, as quoted in the statement.  

As of late 2018, Akavi was believed to be alive according to information from credible sources, while the fate of the two drivers remains unknown, the Red Cross noted.

READ MORE: Russian Security Services: Daesh Picked N Afghanistan as New Centre of Caliphate

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. In late 2017, the victory over the Daesh terrorist group was declared in Syria and Iraq. Certain territories in the two countries are still being cleared of militants.

Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries.