Ozyildiz Says Families of Abducted Pilgrims 'Crossed Limits'

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Turkish Ambassador Inan Ozyildiz slammed on Friday the sit-ins held by the relatives of the nine abducted pilgrims in Syria's Aazaz since May last year.

The diplomat considered in comments published in An Nahar newspaper that the families of the abducted men “crossed the limits.”

Ozyildiz held talks on Thursday with caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour at the Bustros Palace.

Mansour told reporters after the meeting that he called on the Turkish authorities to exert efforts to wrap up the case.

The families of the pilgrims threatened on Thursday to obstruct the interests of the Lebanese state for preventing them from protesting and block Turkish interest in the country.

However, they decided to suspend their sit-ins after General Security Cheif Abbas Ibrahim informed them of positive developments in the case.

The protesters argue that Turkey, which is a staunch supporter of the rebels seeking to topple the Syrian regime, should pressure the kidnappers to release the men.

Eleven men were kidnapped in May 2012 in northern Syria's Aleppo province as they returned by land from a pilgrimage in Iran. Two of them were released in August and September.

They were later taken to the Aleppo town of Aazaz.

The kidnapping was claimed by a man who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim and says he is a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army, but the opposition group denies any involvement in the abductions.

The families have been holding sit-ins near the Turkish airlines and the Turkish cultural center near al-Azarieh building in downtown Beirut for the past two months.

Comments 4
Default-user-icon Phorbilio Guazandil (Guest) 10 May 2013, 09:22

How dare they annoy the Turk? As if their family members are human beings who have been kidnapped for about a year! harrier, jump into your fighter jet and go bomb these SOB lawless insignificant sub-human punks. If you need help, just call GabbyMarch14, allouchti, NostraBenzona, peace and geha, all lovers of life, freedom and human rights. Enough is enough. No?

Default-user-icon dd (Guest) 10 May 2013, 09:27

Ambassador Inan Ozyildiz Good Morning! rise and shine!!
some people (mostly shia) are above the law today, they have 'family military wings', they can close the airport or downtown anytime they please, open a press conference,and start dictating the Lebanese government on what to do and how to act...

Thumb jcamerican 10 May 2013, 10:50

What would you do if one your family members was one of them. Mind your own business and forget about them. Most of you are bunch of hypocrites here or maybe just submissive. If HA wants to get involved, there will not be protest, they just bomb the offices and kill the employees since they are lawless.

Missing amir_taqieddine 10 May 2013, 16:26

The1phoenix, lie much? There are lebanese that have gone missing at the hands of the syrian regime/army, but don't exaggerate and claim almost every lebanese family has someone in syrian jail. That is nothing but a lie and not even close to being the truth.