Relatives of the Arsal abducted soldiers stated on Tuesday that Lebanese authorities are yet to provide them with reassurances in terms of the course of the negotiations aimed for the release of their loved ones.
Following a meeting with Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, the families urged Prime Minister Tammam Salam, House Speaker Nabih Berri, and National Struggle Front Leader MP Walid Jumblatt to speed up talks aimed at resolving the dossier.
A number of soldiers were taken hostage in August when militants from Syria took over the Lebanese border town of Arsal for five days before withdrawing toward the Syrian frontier, taking with them Lebanese soldiers and policemen as hostages. The clashes were the most dangerous spillover of violence from the civil war in neighboring Syria.
The clashes flared up when Syrian gunmen deployed across the region after the Lebanese Armed Forces arrested Imad Jomaa at a checkpoint. The detention of Imad Jomaa, the leader of the Fajr al-Islam Brigade, had caused security tension in the border town of Arsal, claiming the lives of 20 soldiers and leaving 86 others injured.
While the release of five men provided a degree of relief, concerns remain about the troops and policemen still in captivity since four of them have been killed despite ongoing negotiations with the Lebanese authorities to secure their release.