Abductees Families Meet Miqati, Ammar Says Turkish Efforts Ongoing

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Friday met with a delegation representing the families of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims abducted in Syria on May 22, in the presence of Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and MPs Ali Ammar and Ghazi Zoaiter.

After the meeting, Ammar said “PM Miqati and Minister Mansour briefed us about their contacts and discussions with Turkish authorities concerning the case of the Lebanese abductees in Syria.”

“The prime minister reassured us that efforts are being exerted away from the media spotlight in a bid to ensure the safety of the abductees and their return to Lebanon,” Ammar added.

The lawmaker urged the media “to take into consideration the psychological situation of the families who are suffering from” inflammatory media reports, stressing that “the Turkish side is still exerting efforts” to secure the release of the pilgrims.

“This is a national cause par excellence and not a factional or sectarian cause,” Ammar added.

The 11 men were kidnapped in Syria’s Aleppo near the Turkish border while on their way home from a pilgrimage in Iran.