BEIRUT: The case of the abduction of more than a dozen Lebanese truckers by Syrian rebels on a Jordanian border crossing is close to being resolved, media reports said Wednesday.
But some of the drivers’ returns are being hindered by ongoing fighting between the Syrian Army and rebels, five days after they were kidnapped and had their vehicles looted by gunmen.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb was tasked by the Cabinet Wednesday carrying out Lebanon’s emergency policy in response to the closure of the vital Nasib crossing.
The assignment was made in light of ongoing confusion around the number of truckers still held in captivity by Syrian rebels.
As in previous days, various sources reported contradicting information about how many truckers, if any, were still held by the gunmen on the Syrian side of the crossing.
Seer al-Dinnieh Mayor Ahmad Alam, who had 10 trucks stuck at the crossing, told The Daily Star that all his trucks had returned back to Lebanon, and that the gunmen had released all but three truckers from abduction.
Al-Jazeera and Sky News Arabia, on the other hand, reported that eight Lebanese truck drivers were released by the Nusra Front Wednesday.
The information was confirmed by Syrian news sites, which said the truckers were released after it was revealed that they had no connections to Hezbollah or the Syrian regime.
Omar al-Ali, the head of the Refrigerated Trucks Union, told Al-Manar that the issue was resolved, but that the drivers were finding difficulty in returning to Lebanon because of the fighting between the Syrian Army and rebels.
Lebanese TV channel MTV said that the head of the Arab Tribes Union in Lebanon Jasem Askar received a call from gunmen on the Nasib crossing asking him to travel to the Jordanian side of the border to receive the captives.
The call came from Shabab al-Huda, an Islamist group affiliated with Al-Omari Brigades and fighting in southern Syria.
According to MTV, Askar called on the Lebanese Foreign Ministry to provide him with “logistical support” to carry out the mission, saying he suffered from “limited resources,” hinting he needed money.
Askar had told Al-Akhbar newspaper last week that he would play a role in mediating an end to the abduction using his influence in Syria.
Media had reported four days earlier that the Lebanese hostages were referred to Dar al-Adel (Justice House) court run by rebel groups in the area, and that the court commanded Nusra to release them.
Separately, Chehayeb’s new commissioning by the Cabinet exceeded the matter of the abductions, and was more focused on finding alternative ways to export Lebanese products.
The Nasib crossing was the only major road for Lebanese products to reach Jordan and all Gulf countries, and with its closure, sea transportation becomes Lebanon’s only option, Chehayeb announced Wednesday.
In a news conference held after a meeting with the ministers of economy, transportation and industry, Chehayeb warned that one third of Lebanon’s industrial and agricultural exports go to Gulf countries.
He said that a decision was made by the government to subsidize marine transportation for a renewable period of three months and to use either Egyptian ports or the Suez Canal as alternative paths to the Gulf.
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