Families of Abducted Pilgrims Continue Protests as Charbel Speaks of Positive Steps in their Release

The families of the pilgrims held in Syria's Aazaz area staged a sit-in near the Turkish Pegasus Airlines in Beirut on Saturday to protest the ongoing abduction of their loved ones, reported the National News Agency.

The protesters prevented the airlines staff from heading to their offices located near the Bourj al-Murr area.

NNA noted that a number of Syrian nationals also took part in the sit-in, revealing that the familes will stage a demonstration in front of the Turkish unit in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the South on Sunday.

Meanwhile, caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stated that positive steps to resolve the kidnapping are taking place, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyasseh newspaper Saturday.

He told the daily that Lebanese authorities are awaiting from the kidnappers a list of names of Syrian female prisoners held in Syrian jails they want released in exchange for the pilgrims.

General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim is expected to head to Damascus in order to receive the list, revealed the minister without disclosing the date of the trip.

Ibrahim is also set to hold talks with Syrian authorities over the possibility of releasing the prisoners included on the kidnappers' list.

Charbel said that Qatar and Turkey are exerting serious efforts to resolve the case of the Aazaz pilgrims, but noted that previous experiences with the abductors “are not promising.”

Earlier this week, the pan-Arab television al-Mayadeen reported that the abductors have demanded “the release of 282 women detainees from Syrian prisons in return for the release of the Lebanese."

The kidnappers reportedly submitted a list of the names of women detainees to "a high-ranking diplomatic figure” and a Turkish official handed the list to Ibrahim.

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back by land from pilgrimage in Iran.

Two of them have since been released, while the rest are still being held in Aazaz.

The families of the pilgrims have held Turkey and Qatar responsible for their ongoing abduction, while accusing the government of not exerting enough efforts to ensure their release.

They have threatened to target Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release the captives.

They recently held a sit-in near the Turkish Airlines headquarters and Turkish Cultural Center in downtown Beirut.