Towards a happy ending? Syrian boy Muhammad Fawaz Katifan, 8, from the southern Syrian city of Daraa, may be released in the coming hours, according to Syrian media reports.
The boy Fawaz was abducted in November on his way to school, but only in recent days has the affair come to the attention of the Arab public and then to the entire world. Shocking videos of Foaz getting beaten up by his captives have upset social media and caused a lot of pressure to end the affair.
After Fawaz’s family had already sold a plot of land, they were still unable to raise the kidnappers’ ransom demand for $ 140,000, so they launched a crowdfunding campaign. In recent days, the family has raised donations from Syria and around the world, and has reportedly managed to obtain the money demanded by the kidnappers.
Fawaz’s father, Muhammad, has returned from Kuwait – where he works to support his family. After days when family members had difficulty talking to the media, he posted a video in which he thanked the masses who stood by the family and helped her financially. He said that the family had a small amount left to raise and that she would be able to afford it, and asked the public to stop donating money.
UPDATE #SaveFawaz Alhamdulillah the father has given an update to say the money to free his son has been sorted and in’shaa’Allah he should be freed soon, so don’t donate to any fundraisers that may be out there. #أنقذوا_الطفل_فواز_القطيفان pic.twitter.com/9el0v5BouT
— muslim daily (@muslimdaily_) February 7, 2022
Will the kidnappers be captured by the army?
At the same time, according to reports in Syria, the kidnappers called from a phone number identified as a call from abroad and threatened the family that if she did not transfer the money in the next few hours they would start cutting young Fawaz’s fingers.
The fundraising campaign for the release of Fawaz
Apart from the possibility of paying the ransom, it seems that there is also a military option that is emerging. According to reports in Syria, special forces of Assad’s army combined with special forces of the Russian army have begun to encircle the village of Ivta in the Daraa province in the Syrian province. According to estimates, the kidnappers are hiding with the child in the village and its residents can not get out of it during these hours.
In the past, Syria was considered a safe country compared to other Arab countries, but since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 the personal security of the residents has been significantly undermined. The abduction case is still considered relatively extreme, but it can be assumed that it came against the background of the difficult economic situation in the country.
