BEIRUT
One of 13 nuns freed late Sunday after three months of captivity by a shadowy rebel group in Syria said they were well treated by their kidnappers.
"[They] treated us with respect, kindness and high manners. They had never beaten or harmed us," one of the nuns told reporters at Jdeidet Yabous on the border between Syria and Lebanon, where they were handed over to Lebanese and Qatari officials.
The nun went on to say that the kidnappers had not asked them to remove their crosses and allowed them to pray "freely and safety."
The kidnappers also provided them with food, water and clothing, according to the nun.
Last December, a shadowy rebel group claimed responsibility for the abduction of the nuns from a convent in Syria's predominantly Christian town of Ma'loula.
Earlier, the nuns had gone missing from the Mar Takla monastery after Ma'loula, which is located 56km northeast of capital Damascus, fell to opposition fighters.
The group had linked the release of the nuns to the release of 1,000 Syrian women held in the prisons of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The freed nuns thanked all the parties that contributed to their release, with one thanking Bashar and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Lebanese General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, who helped facilitate the nuns' release, said they were released as part of "a comprehensive operation" that also saw the release of 150 female prisoners from Syrian jails.
He denied that a ransom had been paid for the nuns' release.
By Hamza Takeen
englishnews@aa.com.tr
