Families of Arsal Hostages Meet Ibrahim, Will Not Escalate Actions

A delegation from the families of the servicemen abducted by extremists from the northeastern border town of Arsal announced on Tuesday that they will no longer carry out escalatory measures following a meeting with General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim.

They declared: “An exchange with the captors is ready.”

“Negotiations are ongoing however and some minor complications remain,” they stated after receiving reassurances from Ibrahim.

“These complications will be solved soon,” they added.

“We are not eligible to carry out the negotiations with the kidnappers as we do not have the means to do so. This is the responsibility of the government,” they explained.

“We trust the government, which wants to see its sons returned safely,” said the families.

The servicemen were kidnapped in August in the wake of clashes between the army and Islamic State and al-Nusra Front jihadists.

A few of them have since been released, four were executed, while the rest remain held.

The families of the hostages have repeatedly staged sit-ins to protest the government's failure to resolve this issue.

They vowed on Monday to take “unprecedented measures” to pressure the state, but they backed down from it following the meeting with Ibrahim, who is handling the negotiations in the case.

The kidnappers are demanding the release of a number of Islamist prisoners from Lebanese jails as one of their conditions for releasing the captives.

M.T.

H.K.