Families of Hostages Block Raouche Road, Call for 'Mercy'

The relatives of the servicemen taken hostage by the Islamic State extremist group and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front blocked the road in Beirut's Raouche area on Tuesday to protest the authorities' failure to release their loved ones.

“Our moves are escalatory and we don't mind heading to any location to put the spotlight on the file,” said one of the protesters.

They spray-painted the road, asking for the return of the captives.

“Have mercy on us,” one woman shouted. “The state should feel our pain.”

“It's been four to five months that no official has met us,” said another protester. “Let Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim hold talks with us.”

Ibrahim, who heads the General Security Department, is Lebanon's official negotiator. But his efforts, in addition to a Qatari mediation, have not yet yielded results.

The protest caused heavy traffic in the area, forcing police to divert vehicles to nearby roads.

But after vowing to stay there for three hours, the relatives decided to move to another undisclosed location to hold a second protest.

On Sunday, the families blocked the Banks Street near downtown Beirut's Riad al-Solh square protesting the delay in the efforts to free their sons.

They later headed to the airport road and briefly blocked it on both ways with burning tires.

The relatives had a day earlier warned that they will take escalatory measures to pressure the authorities into bringing the captives back home.

They accused the authorities of neglecting the cause of the soldiers and policemen who were taken hostage by the jihadists when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014.

G.K.

D.A.