The son of the spokesperson of the relatives of the Shiite pilgrims kidnapped by Syrian rebels said in remarks published on Wednesday that the pilgrims’ relatives are not satisfied with the steps which caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour has taken so far.
“We are not satisfied with Mansour’s performance on this issue, and we think that the serious work is being done by [caretaker] Interior Minister Mawan Charbel and [General Security chief] General Abbas Ibrahim,” Adham Zgheib told As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper.
Zgheib also said that the relatives are expecting a response from the Syrian regime within 48 hours regarding the kidnappers’ potential release of the 371 female prisoners detained by the Syrian regime.
“Since the beginning, the Syrian regime said it would release civilian detainees, and refused to [release] gunmen who fought against it,” he added.
On May 11 of last year, Shiite pilgrims were abducted in Syria’s Aleppo while returning from a pilgrimage in Iran. Later in the month, a previously unknown armed group calling itself the "Syrian Revolutionaries—Aleppo Province" said that it was holding the group, while the Free Syrian Army repeatedly denied its involvement in the abduction.
On Monday, Charbel received the list of the female prisoners requested to be released in exchange for nine Lebanese pilgrims held hostage in Syria.
In past weeks, the families of the abducted pilgrims have been holding demonstrations to draw attention to the plight of their relatives and have escalated their protests by waging an anti-Turkish interests campaign, accusing Turkey of sponsoring the kidnapping.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/zgheib-relatives-of-shiites-kidnapped-in-aleppo-not-satisfied-with-mansours-work
