BEIRUT: Missing military and security personnel held by jihadist militants from Syria are in good health and being treated properly, according to a Syrian intermediate involved in negotiations to free them, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat newspaper said Friday.
The paper quoted a source in the Committee of Muslim Scholars, which is tasked with conducting the negotiations, as saying that “the Syrian go-between had visited the captives and checked that they are fine, receiving good food and sleeping properly, and that there is guarantee that they be unharmed.”
The source, however, did not say how many soldiers were visited.
Some 19 Army troops in addition to 17 ISF personnel are missing and believed to be held by militants from Syria’s Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who launched an incursion into Arsal Aug. 2, taking over the town and withdrawing five days later under a cease-fire agreement.
The Lebanese authorities are keeping tight lips about the negotiations. The militants have allegedly asked to trade the captives for Islamist prisoners, including militant commander Imad Jomaa whose arrest had triggered the Arsal clashes.
Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr Thursday pressed ahead with charges against 43 jihadists, including Jomaa, over the battles, accusing them of carrying out terrorist acts, attacking the Army, and killing and kidnapping soldiers and policemen, charges for which they may face the death penalty if convicted.
Al-Hayat quoted “informed sources” as saying that the government was keen on maintaining total secrecy and a news blackout on information about the negotiations conducted by the Committee Muslim Scholars.
“The authorities are trying to avoid news leakages that might undermine negotiations and jeopardize the safety of the captives,” the sources said in reference to the disclosure of the video depicting seven of the captives that was relayed to Prime Minister Tammam Salam through the Committee.
According to Al-Hayat, Salam has enlisted the support of the Qataris in helping free the captives in view of the role that Doha played in the happy ending for the “Azaz hostages” and the nuns of Maaloula who were detained by Islamist groups fighting the Syrian regime.
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