Families of Captive Servicemen Meet Ibrahim: Negotiations Ongoing with Kidnappers
The families of the abducted soldiers and policemen stressed on Monday that the cabinet vowed to ensure the safe return of their relatives, confirming that negotiations with jihadists are ongoing.
“The government promised to hand us our sons safe,” the families said after meeting with General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.
One relative told reporters outside the Grand Serail that the state is dealing “positively” with the case of the abductees.
“We were seeking the state's assurances regarding the possibility of swapping our sons with Roumieh inmates.”
The troops and police were kidnapped by militants from al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August and engaged in bloody clashes with the army.
Their capture and the failure of the Lebanese authorities to secure their release sparked protests across Lebanon.
The families are fearing that the extremists would kill their loved ones after they executed three of the hostages in August and September.
Earlier this week, the families moved their protest from Dahr al-Baidar to Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square, erecting three tens to pressure the state to exert more efforts to release their relatives from captivity.
The kidnappers have several demands to release the captives. One of them is the freedom of Islamist inmates in Roumieh prison.
H.K.
M.T.
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