Abbas Shoaib, one of the 11 abducted Lebanese Shiite pilgrims in
Syria, has managed to escape from his captors for a few hours before being
recaptured, LBCI television reported on Monday.
“On Wednesday evening, one of the relatives of the hostages
received an SMS from a Syrian mobile phone number in which the sender
identified himself as Abbas Shoaib,” the TV network said.
In the message, Shoaib urged the families of the abductees to
“pressure the state into securing their release.”
“Fearing that he could be busted, he managed to escape from the
place of detention by climbing a fence and running for hours in an uninhabited
area,” LBCI said, adding that Shoaib also managed to nab the cellphone of one
of the guards.
“He remained in contact with the families for around four hours,
reiterating his demand that they pressure the Lebanese state, which he said was
negligent in communicating with the negotiators,” LBCI added.
Meanwhile, the families contacted Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour
to inform him that Shoaib had managed to escape, the TV network said.
Mansour, for his part, telephoned the Lebanese consul in Turkey
and gave him Shoaib’s number. The consul contacted Shoaib and told him that he
will provide the Turkish intelligence with the number and that they would call
him, locate his position and rescue him.
“Shoaib waited for the Turkish intelligence agents after running
for hours, but his cellphone was turned off at 3:30 a.m.,” said LBCI.
“The families did not hear from him until Sunday, July 29, when
some media outlets contacted Abu Ibrahim, the leader of the abductors, and
managed to interview Shoaib and other hostages,” LBCI added.
On Sunday, Ali Abbas, another abductee, confirmed that the 11
kidnapped men are in the remote Aleppo area of Aazaz, blaming Hizbullah chief
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, without naming him, for their protracted captivity.
“We are the victims of a futile state and useless officials,”
Abbas told LBCI.
Asked whom he was referring to, the abductee answered: “I'm
referring to the person who has refused to apologize and I'm speaking in the
name of everyone here.”
A previously unknown armed group calling itself "Syrian
Revolutionaries - Aleppo Countryside" on May 31 claimed the 11 Lebanese
pilgrims were in its custody, noting that negotiations to release the abductees
“would only be possible after (Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah
apologizes for his latest speech.”
Speaking to the Beirut-based, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen television on
Sunday, Shoaib hoped he would return soon to his family and saluted his
children.
The 11 Shiite pilgrims were abducted by gunmen in the northern
Syrian province of Aleppo on May 22 as they were returning from a pilgrimage to
Iran.
The rebel Free Syrian Army has denied any involvement.
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http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48350
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