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Families of Kidnapped Pilgrims Pressure Suleiman on Fate of Loved Ones

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

The families of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria last month held talks with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Friday, a meeting that An Nahar daily expected to witness a severe criticism against the government’s inability to secure their release.

The newspaper quoted members of the committee that visited Suleiman along with MPs Ali Ammar and Ghazi Zoaiter as saying the president will hear severe criticism over the government’s management of the file 24 days after the abduction of the men in the northern province of Aleppo by armed men.

The delegation will also ask the president as to why he didn’t ask for the assistance of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during his Gulf tour last week, it said.

“We are surprised how our president didn’t ask for the assistance of these states that enjoy good ties with the Syrian opposition,” the sources told An Nahar.

They also said the delegation will inform Suleiman that the families will begin losing patience although they have been exercising self-restraint under the request of Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement.

The families might ask Suleiman to pay a ransom that the kidnappers have been reportedly asking for, An Nahar said as Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) said the negotiations with the rebels reached the starting point.

Last week, the rebels holding the pilgrims said they will free them when a "civil state" sees the day in Syria but also left the door open to negotiations for their release, Al-Jazeera television reported.

The abductors’ statement was accompanied by a video of the 11 men aired on the Qatar-based channel.

On June 1, al-Jazeera quoted a previously unknown armed group, the "Syrian Revolutionaries -- Aleppo Province", as saying they were holding the Lebanese pilgrims who went missing on May 22.

In both videos aired by al-Jazeera, the abductors have demanded an apology from Nasrallah. But no mention has been made on a ransom.

Comments 12
Thumb mowaten 15 June 2012, 07:25

first mind your language rude boy, and second have you even seen the videos and pictures of the pilgrims? they are old men, who were traveling with their wives.
dislike hezbollah if you want, be against them if you want, but what you;re doing here is supporting abduction of innocents based on sect.
this along with your cheap attempt of provocation with your picture make it pretty clear what your intentions are, you hate-monger.
hope they don't pay you too well in cyber-tsahal, because what you're doing is extremely cheap.

Default-user-icon Mehdi (Guest) 15 June 2012, 13:50

Actually they look like Imad Moughnieh, Mohammad Raad and Ali Ammar, the video reminds me of a "loyalty to the resistance" meeting.

Thumb geha 15 June 2012, 08:35

@mowaten
you talk about fanatics: what is hizbushaitan?
you talk about far right: what are Ft, kaim and yourself?
you talk about paid propagandists: what are Ft, kaim and yourself?
you come to a website where moderate people try to discuss events, and you guys bring constant insults, nazist ideas of killing or manning everyone else with whom you disagree, tagging them with wahhabi lovers, israeli agents and so on...
honestly you make me laugh :)

Thumb mowaten 15 June 2012, 10:05

hahaha what an outstanding sack of BS here:
first i dont know about "hizbushaitan" but if you want to know about hezabollah, they are believers but first and foremost they are a resistance organization, they never killed anyone out of religion, even among israelis they'd target soldiers, and very rarely civilians.

second i personally have a left-leaning tendency if you were really wondering (but i doubt, i think you were trying to make a rhythmic comment)
and finally i certainly am not paid to post. if you keep insisting on that, then you start by proving you're not a paid propagandist yourself :)

Thumb mowaten 15 June 2012, 10:06

but the most hilarious thing is "a website where moderate people try to discuss events" hahahahhaha really? the most moderate here talk of eating popcorn when they hear of massacres and wish for the longest and worst civil war for syria. they call for murder of shias and cheer are the kidnapping of pilgrims. they hope israel will invade lebanon and kill hezbollah members and supporters. they wish for foreign intervention and control of our borders. that;s your moderation? ROFL

regarding your cheap accusation that i am the one to insult and threaten with death, well, it doesn't take much to go through the comments and see who writes what. you're just ridiculing yourself with such claims.

Thumb mowaten 15 June 2012, 10:07

right above you is one proof, the post i was answering to when i say "mind your language rude boy" has been deleted. mine is still here for you to count the number of insults in it :)

Thumb liefighter 16 June 2012, 04:56

HA is a the 1st civilian killer, they hide behind their own civillians, they threat to kill civilians either in Israel or in Akkar or Syria

Missing mansour 15 June 2012, 11:21

ummm i thought they were gonna be realased this week???i think the "worthless 11" need to realase another block buster movie,so Ellen can request em on her show.Long Live The Syrian Civil War!

Thumb normzz117 16 June 2012, 17:22

mansour your a racist and very immature.hatters are gonna hate.

Default-user-icon MUSTAPHA O. GHALAYINI (Guest) 15 June 2012, 11:34

i dont think fakhamto can do anything..he went to U.A.E. to discuss tourism and their decision to restrict the coming of their citizens to lebanon.. they issued a confirmation of their restriction just after he left. observe the empty hotels...aley bhamdoun hammana falougha broummana jounieh,its a battle between china russia and the west through wahabies and farsis, and in lebanon bidoun daff mnirkos.

Default-user-icon tryasks (Guest) 15 June 2012, 13:47

The photo reminds me of the mothers of Lebanese kidnapped by the Syrians and their friend lingering in Syrian jails, too bad they are not Shiites for Lebanon's supreme leader Hassan the Groundhog to care about their fate. Assad says they never existed and he's always been truthful, right?

Missing fadi_albeiruti 15 June 2012, 18:07

I'm for the Syrian revolution against the butcher of Damascus but holding the 11 Lebanese is counter-productive and they should be released to their families immediately.