Arsal Captive Relatives Vent their Anger at Lebanese Authorities
The angry families of the soldiers and policemen taken captive by jihadists blocked on Monday the Qalamoun highway and the Dahr al-Baidar road to demand their release, while the Muslim Scholars Committee accused some government powers of obstructing negotiations in their case.
The soldiers and members of the Internal Security Forces were kidnapped when militants from the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August.
Three have been killed by their captors. Two have been beheaded by IS militants and on Saturday al-Nusra Front shot dead the third.
The IS, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq, has also beheaded two Americans and a British citizen in recent weeks.
The relatives of the rest of the captives blocked the two roads with burning tires. They came from across Lebanon to make their voice heard.
The protesters accused the Lebanese authorities of failing to secure the release of the abductees.
They urged the authorities and all politicians to meet the demands of the jihadists and release Islamist prisoners held in Roumieh.
Reports have said that the militants have said they would swap the captives with Roumieh prison Islamist inmates, who are being held at the facility for their involvement in the battles with the Lebanese army at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in 2007.
A delegation from the Muslim Scholars Committee had at one point been tasked with negotiating the captives' release.
“The blood of our loved ones are not cheap,” one protester said.
Another elderly shouted: “I want my only son. We won't leave from here unless an official meets us and promises us that the captives will be released.”
But they later reopened the Dahr al-Baidar road.
The protest caused bumper-to-bumper traffic at Dahr al-Baidar, which links Beirut and Mount Lebanon with the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the Qalamoun highway, a vital road in the North.
Later on Monday, the Muslim Scholars Committee held a press conference, saying: “The committee had exerted all possible efforts to release the soldiers, but its attempts were obstructed by certain sides.”
“The solution to the crisis does not land in the hands of the government or Qatar,” it added.
“Those obstructing the negotiations are within the cabinet,” it stressed without naming which side it was accusing.
“Arsal has revealed the truth on the ground, demonstrating that a political camp is luring the army into a confrontation with the people,” it stated.
“We hope that the government will resolve the case of Islamists in Roumieh jail or issue a general amnesty for the prisoners,” continued the Committee.
Moreover, it warned of Syrian regime attempts to drag Syrians in Lebanon into a confrontation with the Lebanese people.
The kidnapping of the soldiers and policemen has prompted a backlash against Syrian refugees in parts of Lebanon, with tents in informal camps being set alight and hundreds of Syrians sheltered in the eastern Bekaa valley fleeing for fear of attack.
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