Families of Aazaz hostages meet with Speaker Berri's advisor

          
A delegation of the families of the Aazaz hostages held a meeting on Thursday with the advisor to Speaker Nabih Berri, Ahmed al-Baalbaki.           

In this regard, Baalbaki stressed that he will follow up on the case of the detainees held in Roumieh prison on charges of being involved in the abduction of the two Turkish pilots.         

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.