BEIRUT: Lebanon is waiting on Turkey to decide whether it will join efforts to secure the release of 25 Lebanese servicemen held hostage by Islamist militants in Arsal’s outskirts, a senior security source acquainted with the file said Monday. The source told The Daily Star that security authorities sent a letter to Ankara about 10 days ago asking for help finding a solution to the hostage crisis. Turkish officials have not responded to the plea yet, according to the source.
The source said Turkey and Qatar were the only two nations that wield enough influence to solve the five-month crisis. Contacts with Doha and Ankara over the issue since the soldiers and policemen were taken hostage in August have not yielded any results. As it stands the Lebanese government is uncertain as to why both countries chose to halt efforts to negotiate with the militants.
ISIS and Nusra Front briefly overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in early August, taking with them more than 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen captive. They have since released eight and killed four.
The source was not optimistic about solving the crisis any time soon, saying the captors “are not serious and are divided among themselves and do not want to free the hostages.”
“They will continue to blackmail Lebanon and the hostage families.”
Disputing media reports, the source said the kidnappers did not have specific demands. The source said reports that they sought to swap the hostages with prisoners in Roumieh prison were inaccurate.
“Information leaked to Lebanese authorities was that the [captors’] main demand was large amounts of cash,” he said.
On Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt’s remarks about “serious efforts” made by the captors that would likely end the hostage ordeal, the source said a similar proposal made earlier by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour had been rejected by the militants.
The source did not want to reveal the details of the offer. It had been communicated by the militants to Arsal Deputy Mayor Ahmad Fliti, who was appointed by the PSP to negotiate with the militants.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam and his government are in favor of a comprehensive solution to the crisis, something which seems almost impossible, the security source added.
The source said one of the strongest cards the government holds – to execute Islamist prisoners who have death sentences issued against them – requires political consensus, which does not exist.
He stressed that the government would not collapse should a negative development, such as the execution of another soldier, undermine negotiations. “But the government could enter a state of paralysis and lack productivity,” the source added.
The source said Jumblatt’s actions were spurred by pressure from his own community as seven of the hostages are Druze.
He ruled out rumors that ISIS’ military capabilities, and by extension its sway over the crisis, now exceed that of the Nusra Front, saying the latter was stronger and Nusra commander Abu Malek al-Talli had the upper hand in the Arsal area.
A Nusra Front commander told the Turkish news agency Anadolu Monday that negotiations to free the 25 Lebanese servicemen were “completely stalled” adding that there was no mediators in touch with his group.
Meanwhile, Fliti’s appointment was greeted by Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi.
The spokesperson of the families of the captives said after meeting with Machnouk Monday that the minister had assured he “supports any effort in the case that would liberate the captives from Arsal’s outskirts, especially the efforts of Ahmad Fliti.”
The spokesperson quoted Machnouk as saying that the Cabinet supported a deal that involved trading Islamist inmates in Roumieh Prison for the captives.
Later in the day, the families met with Rifi, who voiced strong support for Fliti.“I have cooperated with him on many different issues before,” Rifi said in reference to Fliti. “We trust him, his efforts and his integrity.”
While adding that Fliti was now only negotiating with ISIS, he said another communication channel was open with Nusra, but refused to disclose any details about it.
Rifi, who is the former chief of the Internal Security Forces, also said all the parties were now supportive of a swap deal to end the captives’ crisis.
According to the families’ spokesperson the new mediator is set to contact the Nusra Front for a forthcoming meeting.
Fliti, who will serve as a liaison between the militants and Abu Faour, noted that he was commissioned by only a faction in the Lebanese government and not the Cabinet as a whole. An official appointment by the Lebanese government may be possible, he said.
According to the deputy mayor, who met with ISIS militants on the outskirts of Arsal earlier Sunday, the group expressed its readiness to work with him.
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