Qabbani: Turkey isn't a Kidnapper, It is Exerting Efforts to Release Lebanese Held in Syria

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani slammed the kidnapping of Turkish nationals in Lebanon in retaliation to the abduction of Lebanese in Syria, saying such assaults harm bilateral ties.

“Turkey is not a kidnapper and has nothing to do with the abduction of the ten Lebanese in Syria,” Qabbani said following talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at the end of his visit to Ankara.

“Turkey is exerting the possible efforts to release them that's why it shouldn't be treated as if it is the abductor of those Lebanese,” he said in response to a question.

“The reaction of some in Lebanon shouldn't come through the kidnapping of Turkish citizens present on Lebanese territories because this harms the friendly ties between the two countries,” he added.

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped by the rebel Free Syrian Army in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo on May 22 as they returned from a pilgrimage to Iran.

One of them, Hussein Ali Omar, was released by his Syrian captors last month as a goodwill gesture. But the other ten remain held in an area near the Turkish border.

The kidnapping of Hassan al-Meqdad, another Lebanese man, in Damascus last month led to a spree of abductions by his clan in Lebanon.

The clan's military wing claimed to have seized several Syrians and a Turkish citizen.

Another Turkish man has also disappeared in Lebanon but no side has claimed responsibility for his abduction.