Suleiman Says 11 Abducted Pilgrims in Syria are Safe

President Michel Suleiman said on Thursday that Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour obtained information confirming that the 11 men abducted in Syria are doing well.

The president made his comments ahead of presiding the national dialogue session at Beiteddine.

Asked about the security situation in the country, he said: “Be optimistic.”

Earlier on Thursday, security forces and the army reopened the Beirut airport road a day after it was blocked by the angry relatives of Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria.

The National News Agency said the road that leads to Rafik Hariri International Airport was open amid a heavy deployment of armed forces.

Several family members of the 11 pilgrims that have been held by Syrian rebels since May 22 blocked the road with burning tires on Wednesday after conflicting reports emerged on the fate of the men following scores of deaths in a raid on Aazaz in the northern province of Aleppo.

An Air France flight also diverted to Cyprus because of the insecurity.

Reports at first said four of the pilgrims were killed and later said that the 11 men were safe.

They were kidnapped in Aleppo as they were heading home from a pilgrimage in Iran.

Despite the reopening of the airport road, protestors from the eastern border town of Majdel Anjar continued to block the Masnaa-Rashaya road with burning tires and stones in protest against the closure of the Beirut road.