Families of Arsal Captives Block Road Near Grand Serail

The relatives of the so-called Arsal hostages blocked on Tuesday the road near the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut a day after al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front issued a new threat against the soldiers and policemen who were taken captive in the summer.

Their move was the first since they removed barriers from the street ahead of Christmas.

The families of the abductees renewed their protest a day earlier after they blocked the nearby Riad al-Solh road.

The relatives said the Lebanese government had until Wednesday to give them news about the captives.

“We will then take escalatory measures,” they said following talks with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan.

Al-Nusra Front published Monday on its Twitter account pictures showing the kidnapped servicemen laying face down on the snow with five guns aimed at their heads.

The phrase “Who will pay the price?” was written on the pictures. This line had been used in the past each time the Front sought to threaten the execution of one of the captives.

The new threat came after security forces transferred detainees from the notorious block B of Roumieh prison where militant Islamists were being held.

The soldiers and police were taken hostage by al-Nusra Front and Islamic State group fighters when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August.

The jihadists have executed four of the captives.

Among the demands of the hostage-takers is the release of Islamists from Roumieh.

G.K.

H.K.