BEIRUT: The government has yet to respond to demands presented by jihadis in return for freeing 25 Lebanese servicemen held hostage, an unofficial mediator said Friday, while Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called for the government to end the captives’ ordeal at any cost.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Arsal’s deputy mayor Ahmad Fliti refused to give any details on the proposal he relayed to the government earlier this week.
Fliti was appointed by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour to negotiate the captives’ release with ISIS and the Nusra Front.
“I brought them this offer and we are still waiting for the government’s response,” he said.
Hussein Youssef, the spokesperson for the families of the kidnapped servicemen, was also tight-lipped on the proposal’s content.
“We hope that something positive will emerge in the coming few days,” he said.
“The issue is getting more complicated every time something is leaked to the media,” he added.
After receiving reassurances that the government would respond to the offer, the families reopened Tuesday a critical road downtown that they had blocked for more than two months.
The families said they have entered a “phase of silence” regarding developments in negotiations, noting that they have been asked by the government to keep all information from the media.
After meeting a delegation of the families Friday, Geagea said the government must find a solution to secure the release of captured servicemen at any cost.
“Whatever the cost, the approach, or the swap is, the government should find a solution for this case today, before tomorrow, because we have all become captives,” Geagea told reporters from his residence in Maarab, north Lebanon, where the meeting took place.
“The time has come for ending the captivity of the kidnapped and all of Lebanon,” he said.
A delegation from the hostages’ families have visited several officials in recent weeks as part of their efforts to help secure the release of their loved ones.
The 25 soldiers and policemen have been held since August, when militants from ISIS and the Nusra Front briefly invaded the northeastern town of Arsal.
The jihadi groups have demanded freeing Syrian and Lebanese Islamist prisoners in exchange for the release of the servicemen.
While most political parties have backed in principle a prisoner swap, some of them have reservations about the list of prisoners, including those held on terror charges.
On Thursday, the families visited Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri at his residence in Arsal.
A former mediator, Hujeiri secured the release of four soldiers and a policeman in August.
He promised the delegation to carry on with efforts to win the freedom of the remaining captives although he was not officially tasked to do so by the Nusra Front.
Hujeiri has also been credited with helping postpone the killing of several captive servicemen.BEIRUT: The government has yet to respond to demands presented by jihadis in return for freeing 25 Lebanese servicemen held hostage, an unofficial mediator said Friday, while Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called for the government to end the captives’ ordeal at any cost.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Arsal’s deputy mayor Ahmad Fliti refused to give any details on the proposal he relayed to the government earlier this week.
Fliti was appointed by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour to negotiate the captives’ release with ISIS and the Nusra Front.
“I brought them this offer and we are still waiting for the government’s response,” he said.
Hussein Youssef, the spokesperson for the families of the kidnapped servicemen, was also tight-lipped on the proposal’s content.
“We hope that something positive will emerge in the coming few days,” he said.
“The issue is getting more complicated every time something is leaked to the media,” he added.
After receiving reassurances that the government would respond to the offer, the families reopened Tuesday a critical road downtown that they had blocked for more than two months.
The families said they have entered a “phase of silence” regarding developments in negotiations, noting that they have been asked by the government to keep all information from the media.
After meeting a delegation of the families Friday, Geagea said the government must find a solution to secure the release of captured servicemen at any cost.
“Whatever the cost, the approach, or the swap is, the government should find a solution for this case today, before tomorrow, because we have all become captives,” Geagea told reporters from his residence in Maarab, north Lebanon, where the meeting took place.
“The time has come for ending the captivity of the kidnapped and all of Lebanon,” he said.
A delegation from the hostages’ families have visited several officials in recent weeks as part of their efforts to help secure the release of their loved ones.
The 25 soldiers and policemen have been held since August, when militants from ISIS and the Nusra Front briefly invaded the northeastern town of Arsal.
The jihadi groups have demanded freeing Syrian and Lebanese Islamist prisoners in exchange for the release of the servicemen.
While most political parties have backed in principle a prisoner swap, some of them have reservations about the list of prisoners, including those held on terror charges.
On Thursday, the families visited Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri at his residence in Arsal.
A former mediator, Hujeiri secured the release of four soldiers and a policeman in August.
He promised the delegation to carry on with efforts to win the freedom of the remaining captives although he was not officially tasked to do so by the Nusra Front.
Hujeiri has also been credited with helping postpone the killing of several captive servicemen.
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