BEIRUT:
Two Lebanese farmers from the border village of Abboudieh who were kidnapped
earlier this week by pro-Syrian regime forces will be released shortly, the
head of the Arab Democratic Party Rifaat Eid said Saturday.
“The
two farmers ... will be in their homes within an hour,” Eid said during a
televised news conference, adding that his party played a role in mediation
efforts to release the farmers.
The
farmers will be handed over to Nasri Khoury, head of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian
Council, who will in turn hand them over to Lebanese authorities, according to
local media.
Mohammad
Merhebi and Mahdi Hamdan were kidnapped Wednesday by pro-Syrian regime forces
while they were working their land in Abboudieh, north Lebanon.
The
two men were forcibly taken to Syria, in an act that prompted their families to
protest at the Lebanese border crossings of Abboudieh and Arida and block the
roads from Lebanon to Syria.
The
National News Agency reported that the international road in Akkar, north
Lebanon, was reopened to allow Eid’s car to head to the place where the
Lebanese farmers were located in Syria.
Eid
also referred to ongoing clashes in the northern coastal city of Tripoli and
said that some gunmen in the area enjoyed political cover, which prevented the
Lebanese Army carrying out arrests.
“The
Lebanese Army does not have the needed political cover to bring back safety and
its prestige,” Eid said.
“If
we step into the unknown, the Syrian army will intervene,” he said, reiterating
his call for the Syrian army to enter Tripoli to end the clashes.
Last
month, Eid called for the return of the Syrian army to restore calm to Tripoli
amid deadly clashes between armed opponents and supporters of Syrian President
Bashar Assad in the city.
At least 11 people were
killed during the clashes in Tripoli, where tension has been on the rise over
the 15-month-old popular uprising in neighboring Syria.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-02/175494-abducted-lebanon-farmers-to-be-freed-shortly-arab-democratic-party.ashx#axzz1wo3ad9bB
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