BEIRUT: Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb said eight of nine truck drivers stranded at a Syria-Jordan border will arrive home Monday.
“The drivers are fine and will arrive in Beirut [Monday] aboard a Middle East Airlines,”Chehayeb said in a statement.
He thanked all those who helped “transfer” the truckers to Jordan safely, adding that efforts continue to find the whereabouts of a ninth truck driver.
“We hope for the safe return of the other driver soon,” he said.
Chehayeb said that following extensive efforts over the last 72 hours, the eight Lebanese drivers “are now under the protection of the Jordanian authorities.”
His remarks came after Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk called on Amman Sunday to grant entry to the Lebanese truckers stuck on the Syria side of the Nasib border crossing with Jordan.
“Only the responsible Arabism of the Jordanian king is able to treat this urgent humanitarian crisis,” Machnouk said in a statement.
Nasib crossing was taken over by Syrian rebels on April 1, one day after Jordan had closed the road on its side of the border and evacuated all civilians from the area.
More than 30 Lebanese trucks were banned from entering Jordan and prevented from returning into Syria due to the ongoing clashes between the Syrian Army and rebels. At least 10 others were kidnapped by gunmen, who looted cargo from several trucks.
Chehayeb has said the eight truckers, who were successfully contacted, were being “hosted” by Syrian rebels.
Another 171 truckers have been also stranded in Saudi Arabia and could not cross into Jordan due the ongoing border closure, he said.
Chehayeb added that Lebanese nationals living in Saudi Arabia have pledged to help donate 400 riyal daily to help cover the cost of fellow countrymen while they remain stranded abroad.
Chehayeb has been tasked by the Cabinet with following up on the stranded truckers and find alternative routes to rescue the farm produce before it spoils.
The crossing was the principal export route to Gulf markets.
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