Ibrahim Reportedly Begins Foreign Trip on Troops Case, Says Progress Made
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has said that the negotiations to secure the release of the so-called Arsal hostages were on the right track.
Ibrahim told As Safir daily in remarks published on Tuesday that there was progress in the talks aimed at setting free the soldiers and policemen taken captive by jihadists from the northeastern border town of Arsal last month.
But the General Security leader did not give further details out of fears that divulging more information would put the lives of the hostages at risk.
Later on Tuesday, OTV said Ibrahim left Lebanon “on a mission related to the case of the abducted troops.”
The militants from the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group have already executed three of the captives.
Asked if he would contact Qatari and Turkish officials to resolve the case, Ibrahim said he would get in touch with “all parties that could help us close this file.”
Ibrahim met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq on Monday to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, LBCI reported that a Qatari envoy arrived in Arsal and headed to its outskirts along with Lebanese individuals “to start a new round of negotiations with the troops' captors.”
“Negotiations by Lebanese parties had been focused on releasing troops before the Eid al-Adha holiday,” LBCI said.
But “the kidnappers suspended the negotiations after they knew that a Qatari envoy was scheduled to arrive,” the TV network added.
Al-Akhbar daily quoted informed officials as saying on Monday that “Qatar's envoy reached an important breakthrough in the negotiations after receiving an oral pledge from the kidnappers that they would not execute more soldiers.”
The officials said the mediation with al-Nusra Front is easier because Qatar has an influence on the group. But the IS leadership in the Syrian al-Qalamun region and the outskirts of Arsal needs a decision from the group's general command on every step it takes.
Meanwhile, the families of the hostages continued to block roads that are considered main arteries in northern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
They have vented their anger at the Lebanese government for failing to secure the release of their loved ones.
Al-Mashnouq hoped, however, that the families would reopen the roads when they discover that the government is “serious” in bringing the hostages back home.
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