Al-Nusra Front Says 'Manipulators' Forced Suspension of Negotiations on Hostages
Al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front denied on Wednesday that there was progress in the negotiations to release Lebanese hostages in a prisoner swap, saying the talks have been suspended.
The jihadists addressed the relatives of the hostages on their twitter account, saying: “Reports that the negotiations between us and General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim have been (successfully) completed are not true.”
The talks to release the captive servicemen “have been suspended because of the manipulation of mediators from the Lebanese side,” they said.
“We hope that the negotiations file would move to safe hands. We had previously proposed the formation of a committee from the hostages families to oversee the negotiations process,” al-Nusra Front added.
The group has in its captivity 16 soldiers and policemen, while nine remain held by the Islamic State extremist group.
The servicemen were taken hostage in the wake of clashes in the northeastern border town of Arsal in August last year.
A few of them have since been released and four were executed.
Reports have said that the negotiations with IS jihadists have stalled over their crippling demands.
Al-Nusra Front's announcement on Wednesday came a day after Ibrahim expressed relief over the progress in the mediation with the jihadist group.
“The Qatari intelligence is mediating the timing of conducting the deal” with al-Nusra Front, Ibrahim said.
Diplomatic sources told As Safir newspaper that Qatari officials were in shuttle diplomacy with the representatives of the group, in particular in Turkey.
The negotiations included the details of the prisoners swap deal, the sources said, revealing that Qatari intelligence chief Ghanim al-Kubaisi could visit Lebanon soon.
Al-Akhbar newspaper also said Tuesday that negotiations are touching on the names of prisoners, who will be released according to the agreement.
Information obtained by the daily said that the Lebanese Army leadership received a list that included the names of 50 prisoners, including Joumana Hmeid.
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