Govt. Admits Negotiations 'Tough' as Masri Says Met with 9 IS-Held Captives

The government admitted Thursday that the negotiations to release the captive servicemen are “tough” and “moving slowly,” as Lebanese cleric Sheikh Wissam al-Masri announced that he met the captors who belong to the Islamic State group in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

“The crisis cell will continue its efforts to secure the release of the servicemen although the negotiations are tough and moving slowly,” Information Minister Ramzi Jreij announced after a cabinet session at the Grand Serail.

Jreij, however, stressed that the negotiations are still ongoing, hoping they will eventually lead to the release of the hostages.

The extremist al-Nusra Front and Islamic State groups have been holding more than 25 servicemen hostage since the early August clashes with the army in the Bekaa border town of Arsal.

The families of the troops and policemen demanded a role for the Muslim Scholars Committee in the negotiations after Qatar ended its mediation on December 7. The committee has so far failed to obtain an official authorization from the government.

The name of another mediator, Sheikh Wissam al-Masri, has recently surfaced in media reports.

“I went to Arsal's outskirts and I met the relevant Islamic State officials and the man in charge of the case of the servicemen,” Masri announced on Thursday evening at the sit-in organized by the families of the hostages in downtown Beirut.

“They expressed extreme dismay over the state's approach towards Hizbullah's intervention in Syria,” the cleric added, referring to the captors.

“I asked them to allow me to check up on the situations of the servicemen and they blindfolded my eyes before allowing me to meet them and I can confirm that I saw nine servicemen,” he added.

Asked about their conditions, Masri said “they are in good health and their morale is somewhat high.”

He cautioned, however, that the hostage Seif Zebian is suffering from “an acute inflammation in one of his ears” while Mustafa Wehbe is suffering from “a foot infection.”

Separately, the cabinet briefly discussed the issues of waste management and the introduction of new faculties and branches at universities before they were postponed to the coming session.

As for the issue of the protracting presidential void, Prime Minister Tammam Salam reiterated during the session his call for the election of a new president, warning that “continued vacuum would strip the state of its head, without which the work of institutions cannot be regularized.”

He also called for “putting the national interest above all else and exerting efforts to fill the vacuum without any delay.”

The presidential seat has been vacant since president Michel Suleiman's term ended on May 25.

Political differences and electoral competition have led to a lack of quorum in 16 electoral sessions in parliament, amid a boycott by the MPs of the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah.

Y.R.

(Photo courtesy of LBCI)