Damascus Hands Over 3 Bodies of Lebanese Killed in Tall Kalakh on Sunday
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour announced on Saturday that Syria will hand over the bodies of three Lebanese killed in the Tall Kalakh ambush on Sunday.
“The three bodies belong to Khodr Mustafa Alameddine, Malek Ziad al-Hajj Dib and Abdul Hamid Ali Agha,” revealed a statement issued by Mansour's office.
The statement explained that the delivery process will be in coordination between General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim in coordination and concerned Syrian authorities.
“The rest of the bodies will be handed over in several batches for logistic reasons,” Mansour added.
The National News Agency reported that General Security ambulance cars will go to Syria on Sunday to transfer the three bodies to Lebanon through al-Arida border where they be then handed over to the Lebanese Red Cross that will take care of delivering them to their respective families.
Ibrahim, who was tasked to follow up the case of the Lebanese fighters killed in Tall Kalakh, returned from Syria on Saturday as the families vowed to block roads if the government failed to resolve the case.
Conflicting reports emerged on how the bodies of the fighters will be returned to Lebanon after Syria had promised that it would hand over the bodies in three rounds, starting Saturday.
The spokesman of the families of the fighters Mohammed Ibrahim gave the government a one-day ultimatum to return the bodies of the men.
He warned that the families would block roads on Monday if the government failed to meet their demands.
Ibrahim later held talks with FM Mansour to discuss the latest developments in the case.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati had tasked the General Security chief to head to Syria to hold talks with senior officials in an attempt to receive the bodies in a single round.
“We reject any deal between Lebanese and Syrian authorities that link the delivery of our sons' bodies to handing over members of Syria's opposition,” a statement released by Islamists' families said, denying having anything to do with the current clashes in the northern city of Tripoli.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, whose meeting with the families of the slain men in Tripoli was canceled on Saturday, said Syria has informed Lebanese authorities that 16 bodies would be handed over.
But media reports had said that 14 Salafists, who mostly hail from Northern Lebanon, were killed last week in an ambush carried out by Syrian regime forces as they infiltrated the town of Tall Kalakh to fight alongside the Free Syrian Army.
One report said that around three men arrested in the deadly ambush will not be handed over to Lebanese authorities and will be tried in Damascus instead.
Several others have reportedly escaped and sought refuge with the rebel FSA.
Tripoli's clashes broke out over the weekend in wake of the announcement of the death of a number of Lebanese Islamist fighters in the border region of Tall Kalakh in Syria on Friday.
At least 13 individuals have been killed since the eruption of the northern city's conflict.
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