BEIRUT: The Lebanese hostages held
by Syrian rebels were moved for security reasons but are still in the Aleppo
district of Izaaz, according to the ambassador of the International
Organization for Human Rights. Speaking to The Daily Star Sunday, Ali Akil
Khalil said the head of the captors informed him that they moved the hostages
from the house where they had been kept.
“He said that they are still in
Izaaz but that they were moved to another place for security reasons,” said
Khalil.
Khalil said he telephoned Abu
Ibrahim, the head of the captors, Saturday after receiving phone calls from the
relatives of the kidnapped asking about media reports of the move.
The 11 men were kidnapped in May in
Izaaz shortly after crossing from Turkey. They were heading back to Lebanon
after a pilgrimage in Iran. The rebels have refused to negotiate their release
with the Lebanese government, instead asking to hold talks with Future Movement
MP Oqab Sakr or Col. Wissam Hasan, the head of the Internal Security Forces
Information Branch.
Reporters and some of the pilgrims’
relatives visited the men last week with the rebels’ permission.
The hostages were living in a house
and appeared in good health in the footage broadcast.
Khalil, who arrived in Lebanon
Saturday after spending two days with the kidnapped, said he believed Turkey
could play an effective role in securing the release of the captives.
“The Turks provided them [the
rebels] with flour and gas when I was with them,” he said.
“If they can do that, why can’t they
make them release the 11?”
Last week, relatives of the
kidnapped staged a protest near Turkey’s Embassy in Lebanon, warning that
Turkish nationals in Lebanon could be kidnapped if Ankara refuses to work for
the pilgrims’ release.
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, who
flew Sunday to Saudi Arabia to attend the Muslim Summit in Jeddah, said he
would discuss the case on the sidelines of the event.
“Of course we will discuss this issue on the
sidelines of the conference with relevant ministers and officials of relevant
states,” Mansour told reporters prior to his departure.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-13/184470-kidnappers-move-11-pilgrims-for-security-reasons.ashx#axzz23Ova9jeY
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