BEIRUT: As security sources predicted a breakthrough this week in the file of the hostages, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri vowed Monday to assist in the release of 25 Lebanese servicemen being held hostage by ISIS and the Nusra Front on Arsal’s outskirts.
Also Monday, a senior security source confirmed to The Daily Star that progress has been made in the file of the hostages, expecting that “a positive breakthrough will emerge this week.”
The source, who is directly involved in negotiations but spoke on condition of anonymity, said talks to release the captive servicemen being held on the outskirts of the northeastern village of Arsal were “on the right track.”
During a meeting with the families of the hostages in his Beirut residence, Hariri said he wouldn’t spare any effort to resolve the 7-month-old crisis, according to a statement released by his media office.
Hariri also voiced his support for the crisis cell in charge of dealing with the hostage case, saying that negotiations should be restricted to the government. The abundance of actors involved in the case would only hinder a solution, he added.
Hariri expressed his solidarity with the families and said he was sympathetic to their demands.
Speaking during a news conference in Riad al-Solh Square in Downtown Beirut, Mohammad Taleb, the father of one of the captives, said Hariri vowed to hold talks with members in the Cabinet in addition to Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblatt and General Security head Abbas Ibrahim in an effort to reach a deal that would secure the servicemen’s release.
Taleb noted that the government was adamant on ending the issue and was willing to trade Islamist inmates detained in Lebanese prisons in return for the captives.
The case of the captive soldiers and policemen held by both the Nusra Front and ISIS since August has been shrouded in secrecy since the prime minister criticized media leaks by officials, saying they harmed talks. At least 37 servicemen were originally abducted by the militants during a five-day battle with the Lebanese Army. Eight hostages have since been released and four were killed.
Hussein Youssef, a spokesperson for the families, said the committee would remain tight-lipped over developments in the hostage dossier, in line with the government’s secrecy over the issue.
Youssef also noted that Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, an informal mediator close to the Nusra Front, has been tasked with negotiating the release of the hostages.
The spokesman also highlighted the credibility of comments made by Hujeiri with regard to the hostage crisis, stressing that the sheikh’s role as a mediator confirms his extensive knowledge about the case.
Speaking to The Daily Star Sunday, Hujeiri said the government and the Nusra Front resumed serious negotiations earlier this month with efforts leading to “a preliminary agreement that will make way for the release of the Lebanese servicemen.”
“There is one small complication left but when that is resolved the next step will be the implementation of the deal,” Hujeiri said.
A security source, tasked with following the issue, also confirmed to The Daily Star over the weekend that the government has resumed talks with the Nusra Front, and that positive signs had led to encouraging results.
The source did not elaborate on the nature of the new developments but cited the recent resumption of Qatari mediation as a factor, adding that members of the government’s crisis cell had been briefed on the matter, including Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
Meanwhile, the father of one of the hostages who visited his son over the weekend assured reporters Monday that all captive servicemen held by Nusra Front militants were in good health and being treated well.
Fadel Fayyad, from the southeastern region of Rashaya, checked on his son, Maher, who is among more than 10 soldiers and policemen detained by the Nusra Front.
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