Geagea: Army Could Coordinate with International Coalition to Free Captive Soldiers

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Friday that the state is faced with two options regarding the release of the soldiers and policemen held captive by Islamist militants from Syria.

He said via Twitter: “The army should attempt to free them by force, which requires complete coordination with the international coalition against the Islamic State group.”

“All the government's current actions in the case of the captives will not yield any result,” he added.

The second option, he tweeted, requires the government “to take a decision as soon as possible calling for Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately.”

The soldiers and policemen were abducted in August at the end of clashes with the Islamists in the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Three of them have since been executed, while efforts are underway to release the rest.

The families of the captives have been staging protests throughout Lebanon to pressure the state to exert more efforts to free them.

The Islamists have meanwhile reportedly been demanding the release of fellow Islamists in Roumieh prison in exchange for the Lebanese hostages.

They have also been critical of Hizbullah's fighting in Syria alongside the country's ruling regime.

M.T.

G.K.