07.12 Orthodox Nuns Taken by Syrian Rebels Appear in Video

BEIRUT, December 7 (By Albert Aji and Zeina Karam, Associated Press) − A group of Syrian Greek Orthodox nuns reportedly seized by rebels from a convent near Damascus denied in a video broadcast Friday that they had been kidnapped and said they were being held in a safe place.

It was the first appearance by the nuns, whose alleged Monday abduction has increased concerns about the treatment of Christians by hard-liners in the rebel ranks, particularly as the fighting has engulfed more Christian villages in recent months.

Also Friday, an international watchdog said it has verified the destruction of all of Syria's declared stocks of unfilled munitions for delivering chemical agents, another milestone along the road to eradicating President Bashar Assad's chemical weapons program.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement that its experts in Syria also have verified the destruction of parts of buildings at weapons production facilities. The latest destruction work was near the city of Homs - sites that the OPCW said had been inaccessible due to security reasons.

The Syrian army has been advancing against rebels and on Monday troops reopened the highway linking Damascus with the central city of Homs.

The highway is a key road leading to Syria's coast and could open the way for transporting the country's chemical weapons to be sent to the port of Latakia before they are taken out of the country for destruction.

The joint United Nations-OPCW team in Syria aims to remove most chemical weapons from Syria by the end of the year for destruction at sea and destroy the entire program by mid-2014.