Report: Negotiations on Lebanese Hostages Take New Turn

Qatar has informed General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim that they have reached a breakthrough in the case of the Lebanese servicemen taken hostage by jihadists, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper said Ibrahim traveled to Doha recently after Qatari officials told him that they reached a partial deal with al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front.

Ibrahim went into contact with the Syrian leadership more than once and traveled to Ankara on Thursday for new talks with the Qatari intelligence chief Ghanem al-Kubaisi.

His activity is a sign that the case made a leap forward after al-Nusra Front set the final list of prisoners that it wants released from Lebanese or Syrian jails, As Safir quoted informed sources as saying.

The Lebanese soldiers and policemen were taken captive from the northeastern border town of Arsal in August last year when al-Nusra Front and Islamic State group militants engaged in heavy clashes with the army.

Among the demands of the militants is the release of Islamists.

The latest negotiations carried out by Ibrahim, who is Lebanon’s official mediator, could lead to a deal on a clear mechanism on a prisoner swap, said the sources.

But the talks are only limited to the servicemen held by al-Nusra Front and not the IS, they stressed.

The sources revealed that the negotiations with the IS had reached an advanced stage in January through one of the unofficial Lebanese mediators.

The deal lied in exchanging prisoners on three stages and included the release by March of the nine servicemen taken hostage by the IS in return for several detainees.

But the militants froze the negotiations the last minute without any justification, said the sources.

The families of the captives, who on several occasions blocked roads in frustration, stopped all escalatory measures after they confirmed that the Lebanese authorities were serious in resolving the case of their loved ones.

The relatives are in continuous contact with the so-called crisis cell that met on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments on the hostages.

G.K.

H.K.