Families of Lebanese hostages in Aazaz hold sit-in in Ain el-Tineh

Relatives and friends of Lebanese hostages in Syria's Aazaz held on Tuesday a sit-in amid tight security measures before the headquarters of House Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

MP Hani Kobeissi carried out negotiations with members of the families who refused to break their demonstrations before meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri.

The families are demonstrating for the detention of three members for suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of two Turkish pilots in Beirut a month earlier.

On Friday the 9th of August, gunmen intercepted a Turkish Airlines' bus at the Cocodi Bridge in Beirut and kidnapped two crew members, a pilot and a co-pilot. The bus carrying the crew members was heading from the Beirut International Airport towards a hotel in Ain El-Mrayseh.

While well-informed sources linked the abduction to the case of the Lebanese hostages held in Aazaz, the relatives of the Aazaz hostages denied being involved in the operation.

The incident triggered a chain of reactions mainly from the Turkish side, the most prominent being the call launched by the Turkish foreign ministry on its nationals to leave Lebanon.

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped on their way back from Iran by insurgents hoping to use them for a prisoner swap on the 22nd of May. Only two have so far been released.

Their families have vowed to continue their movements until all their loved ones have returned home "safe and sound".

They accuse Ankara of sponsoring the kidnapping and the Lebanese government of inaptness in this regard.