The premier's office on Thursday
confirmed that Italian hostages Greta Ramelli and Vanessa
Marzullo have been freed.
"They are free and will be back in Italy soon," the
government tweeted.
The Lower House broke into long and unanimous applause when
Reform Minister Maria Elena Boschi broke news of their
liberation.
"Greta and Vanessa freed. The result of Italy's intensive
teamwork," the foreign ministry tweeted.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will be on hand at Rome's
Ciampino airport to welcome them when they land later tonight,
government sources said.
"It's a great joy," said Vanessa's dad, Salvatore Marzullo.
"We are brimming with happiness," Ramelli's mother told the
mayor of Gavirate, the town near Milan where the family lives.
"We can't wait to hug our daughter again".
The two young aid workers were snatched in the war-torn
Syrian city of Aleppo on July 31 last year.
Marzullo, 21, and Ramelli, 20, had only been in Syria since
July 28 and were working on health and water-related
humanitarian aid projects.
The Syrian version of Al Qaeda, Al Nusra, claimed
responsibility for the abduction.
The pair appeared in a dramatic video on January 2,
breaking five months of silence on their plight.
Speaking English with eyes lowered, Ramella was recorded on
the video saying: "We beg our government and its mediators to
bring us back home by Christmas".
"We are in extreme danger and could be killed" she added.
"The government and its mediators are responsible for our
lives," she said as Marzullo, holding a placard with the date
December 17, looked briefly at the camera without speaking.
The two young women were videotaped wearing long dark
tunics that covered their bodies and hair, leaving only their
faces visible.
Marzullo and Ramelli, both natives of Milan-area towns,
co-founded the Horryaty Project bringing medical assistance to
Syria, and have volunteered in Africa and India in the past.
Soon after their abduction Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia,
recalled that the two young women had worked as volunteers
helping welcome Syrian refugees arriving at Milan's central
railway station.
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