The Director General of General Security Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim revealed in a statement to the General Security magazine, the details of the negotiations that led to the release of the Maaloula nuns, noting that, in light of his phone conversations with his Qatari counterpart, he decided to visit Damascus for the first time in order to discuss the issue.
He added that at that time, the kidnappers had revealed their identities, explaining that the deterioration of the situation in Yabroud pressed the abductors to engage in the negotiations.
In this context, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim revealed that he accepted a list of 900 detainees held at Syrian jails, and instructed the Lebanese party to reject a list of 150 Islamist detainees currently incarcerated at Roumieh prison.
Ibrahim explained that after filtering the demands and rejecting the list of Roumieh prison detainees, the negotiations moved to another level that focused on finalizing the issue of 900 detainees held by the Syrian regime, which was sent to Damascus, where the authorities verified the names.
“Following the surveys and verifications, the number of detainees dropped from 900 to 141, mostly involving women,” he added.
The Maaloula nuns were released on March 9, and handed over to a Lebanese General Security delegation in the Bekaa border town of Arsal, after having been held by Syrian rebels since December. The nuns were freed in exchange for the release of around 150 female prisoners held by the Syrian authorities.
The nuns went missing in December after Islamist fighters took the ancient quarter of the Christian town of Maaloula north of Damascus. To watch Yazbek Wehbe's report, please click on the VIDEO above