BEIRUT: Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel left for Turkey Thursday for negotiations on the release of nine kidnapped Lebanese held in Syria, according to the National News Agency.
Charbel flew from Rafik Hariri International Airport with General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the NNA reported.
Ibrahim has made several recent trips to Syria to mediate the release of the hostages who were abducted last year in the Aleppo district of Azaz while returning from Iran to Lebanon.
The rebel group holding the hostages is demanding the release of hundreds of female detainees held by the Syrian regime.
Eleven Shiite travelers were originally abducted on May 21 of last year, and two have so far been released.
Lebanese officials have said many times the hostages’ release is imminent, but so far diplomatic negotiations in Turkey and Syria have yielded few results.
The families of the kidnapped blame Turkey for delaying the release and have launched months of protests against Turkish organizations in Lebanon.
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30/05/2013
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