Report: Muslim Scholars Mediate Again on 10 Pilgrims Held in Syria
The head of the Committee of Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Hassan Qaterji, said Sheikh Salem al-Rafehi travelled to Turkey to follow up the case of the 10 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria.
Qaterji told An Nahar daily on Friday that al-Rafehi headed to Ankara based on Interior Minister Marwan Charbel’s request.
Charbel denied on Thursday a report in al-Liwaa newspaper that a security delegation will travel to Ankara to close the deal on the exchange of abductees.
An Nahar said that a trip by General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to Turkey would be a sign of progress in the case of the abducted Lebanese.
Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped on May 22 by the rebel Free Syrian Army in the northern province of Aleppo while on their way home from a pilgrimage to Iran.
One of the abductees, Hussein Ali Omar, was released last week by his kidnappers, who said the man was set free in response to a request by Qaterji.
The remaining pilgrims are being held near the Syrian town of Aazaz, some 3 kilometers from the Turkish border.
But the abduction of Hassan al-Meqdad by armed rebels in Damascus this month led to a kidnapping spree of Syrians and Turkish citizens in Lebanon.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/51869 |