Journalist who fled from insurgents: Belarusian may be saved

Anhar Kochneva, journalist from Damask, managed to escape from insurgents after five months of captivity. Anhar became famous for her support of the government during the civil war. She knows commanders from both sides. She started thinking about the ways to save the captured women as soon as she saw the video on the Internet, she told Euroradio. However, the situation is complicated.

“I do not think that the girls will run away. I doubt they have a good command of Arabic or know the territory,” Anhar Kochneva said.

Euroradio: How could they come to Syria? They went to Lebanon to work as dancers, their relatives say.

Anhar Kochneva: Really? We thought they were married in Syria. They were probably abducted from Lebanon and brought here. I have informed the army about it, we are starting to look for them. I understand what is going on, I phoned the Belarusian Embassy but they were not in the know. We will decide what to do because we know what needs to be done. The capturers only published that video. They have not demanded anything yet.

Svyatlana Markiyanovich’s photo from social networks

Euroradio: What may happen and what is happening to the women now?

Anhar Kochneva: They may be saved. Insurgents probably want a ransom for them so I think that they are alive.

Euroradio: Do you think there may be any violence?

Anhar Kochneva: It may happen. It depends on the leader of their group. I had a more or less normal leader. He understood that I would be released sooner or later.

Euroradio: What is going on in Syria now? According to different TV channels, the country is divided into several parts and the situation is ambiguous.

Anhar Kochneva: Insurgents are controlling several territories in the country. The army is ousting them. Why did bandits captured the cities? Assad wanted to remove troops from cities and it was done. When the army left, bandits came. Many of them are coming back to the state army. I interviewed a former insurgent recently. He has come back to the state army because he saw nothing good on the other side. There is no freedom or democracy there.