Several families of the
11 Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria held a sit-in on Tuesday near the
junction that leads to the Baabda palace.
The families warned that
they would escalate their measures if the men weren’t released soon and chanted
slogans condemning the government’s failure to achieve their release.
Head of the presidential
guard Wadih al-Ghafari met with the protesters and pledged to relay their
demands to President Michel Suleiman and the government.
He also negotiated with
them to persuade them against blocking the road leading to the presidential
palace.
The protesters were
granted an audience with Suleiman, who vowed that positive developments will be
revealed in the abduction before Sunday.
Head of the committee
dedicated to following up on the case, Sheikh Abbas Zoghaib hoped that
sufficient attention will be given to the case.
He added: “Our patience
has run out and we have only been given empty pledges.”
One family member told
LBC TV that President Michel Suleiman informed her that the authorities are
exerting efforts to set them free.
The 11 pilgrims were
abducted in Syria on May 22 by gunmen in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo
as they were returning from a pilgrimage to Iran.
The abductors have
continuously demanded Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to apologize if
the men were to be released.
On Monday, Abbas Shoaib,
managed to escape from his abductors for a few hours before being recaptured,
media reports said.
On Sunday, Ali Abbas,
one of the abductees, confirmed that the 11 kidnapped men are in the remote
Aleppo area of Aazaz, blaming Nasrallah, without naming him, for their
protracted captivity.
He told LBCI that the men
are the victims of “futile state and officials.”http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48419
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