Salam: No guarantee for Lebanese military and security captives' safety

BEIRUT: The government cannot guarantee the safety of the servicemen had captive by Islamic militants Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Monday, while assuring the families of the captives that they are working hard to secure their release.

“The government did not neglect the file of the hostage soldiers and is deploying all possible efforts to secure their release, but we cannot give firm guarantees to their relatives because with terrorism there is no guarantee,” Salam said before leaving to New York to take part in meetings of the U.N. General Assembly.

Salam said negotiations with the militants from the Nusra Front and the ISIS were still ongoing, although “they were disrupted because of the slaying of soldiers and use of blackmail.”

“We are keen on strengthening negotiations on the basis of guarantees that the killings would stop, and we are still working on that,” Salam said.

He said Lebanon had sought Turkey’s help in facilitating negotiations with the Syrian militants, but the latter was preoccupied by working for the release of Turkish hostages who were detained by ISIS in Mosul, Iraq.

“Now that they have been freed, we can talk with them again.”

Salam said he would strongly relay to the international community, Lebanon’s deep concern over rampant violence and the large efforts it is deploying through its Army and security forces to combat the militants’ terrorism.

“We need to raise our voice out loud, reinforce our unity and prevent terrorists from intimidating us,” Salam said.

The prime minister also said that he would ask the international community to increase its support for Lebanon to cater for the big number of Syrian refugees it is harboring, noting that the assistance has been lackluster so far.

Militants from Syria’s Nusra Front and ISIS overran Arsal in August, clashing with the Army for five straight days in the most serious spillover of the violence raging in Syria.

At least 19 soldiers were killed and over 30 captured in the clashes. The militants have executed three captives and released seven. At least 21 remain captive and face threats of execution unless the authorities meet the captors' conditions to release them, including releasing Islamist detainees held in Roumieh Prison.