Mansour briefs Sleiman on hostages’ situation in Nigeria

President Michel Sleiman met on Monday with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour who briefed him on the situation of the hostages held in Nigeria, and the efforts deployed for their release.            

Two Lebanese contractors kidnapped by Islamist militants along with five other foreigners in Nigeria were feared dead Sunday night, after Britain, Italy and Greece asserted that their citizens had likely been killed.            

The Ansaru rebel group issued a statement Saturday saying it had killed all seven foreign hostages taken during a raid on the housing compound of Lebanese-Nigerian construction company Setraco in the northern Nigeria last month.            

Initial reports stated four Lebanese were among the seven hostages, who included an Italian, a Greek and a British national, but Setraco CEO Said Khalaf clarified that two of the hostages were Syrian.            

On a separate issue, Sleiman was informed of the security situation in his meeting with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, where they also tackled the preparations carried out by the Interior Ministry regarding the parliamentary elections and the ongoing deliberations aimed at reaching a new electoral law that represents all the Lebanese factions.                

Sleiman also met with LAF Chief Jean Qahwaji and ISF Director General Ashraf Rifi and discussed the latest security developments.