DNA Confirms Body Belongs to al-Sayyed as Muslim Scholars Say Negotiations Currently Suspended

The Muslim Scholars Committee on Tuesday strongly condemned the beheading of army sergeant Ali al-Sayyed at the hands of Syria-based extremist groups, stressing that it will not hesitate to contribute to any effort aimed at freeing the abducted troops and resuming the “currently suspended” negotiations.

In the evening, Akkar MP Khaled Zahraman said DNA testing has verified that the body handed over to the army on Monday is that of al-Sayyed.

The lawmaker urged restraint and heavy participation in the slain sergeant's funeral.

In a statement issued after the periodic meeting of its administrative bureau, the MSC said its delegation “could return to negotiations in the case of the kidnapped Lebanese troops when the situations become appropriate.”

It said its “rejoining of the negotiations would push them forward” and that “meanwhile, it will not hesitate to support any effort that would contribute to resolving the crisis or that would serve any humanitarian issue, the same as happened in the initiative of recovering Ali al-Sayyed's body.”

The Committee received the corpse from militants on Monday before handing it over to the army's Intelligence Directorate.

The body is currently undergoing DNA tests.

The victim was among around 30 soldiers and policemen still in the captivity of the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Qaida breakaway organization Islamic State after the two groups overran Arsal and clashed with the army in early August.

The MSC revealed that it has formed a panel that would follow up on “the currently suspended negotiations,” noting that “any announcement not made by this panel or by the administrative bureau will not be credible and the Committee will not take responsibility for it.”

“Any report issued by the Committee will be exclusively published on its official Facebook page,” the MSC added.

The Committee said “the beheading of any Lebanese soldier is an act that is condemned by all standards,” urging the kidnappers to "stop such acts that do not serve the Syrian cause or Lebanon's civil peace."

It called on them to release the rest of troops as soon as possible, urging the Lebanese state to “exert strenuous efforts to provide the appropriate circumstances that would facilitate their release.”

Separately, the Committee deplored “the burning of religious banners and the desecration of places of worship by writing slogans on them at the hands of some individuals,” urging authorities to “stop those responsible for such acts, which are inappropriate and would open the doors to strife, the thing that (Justice) Minister Ashraf Rifi sought to warn against through his decision” to prosecute individuals who burned an IS flag in Ashrafiyeh.

Y.R.

M.T.