Relatives of soldiers who were kidnapped in the border town of Arsal set up tents in Martyrs' Square Wednesday demanding the Lebanese authorities to hold urgent meetings and deploy further efforts to secure the release of the abducted troops.
For his part, Future bloc MP Hadi Hobeiche voiced his support to the families of the soldiers and to the military institution, urging the Lebanese government to do its utmost efforts to ensure the return of the troops from Arsal.
In turn, MP Mouin al-Merabi said that today's sit-in is against Hezbollah and its Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, calling on the abductors to release the kidnapped soldiers who represent all Lebanese sects.
Yesterday, Sheikh Moustapha al-Hujeiri told LBCI that he accompanied on Monday night the family of the abducted soldier Georges Khoury to the outskirts of the border town of Arsal to meet him.
Sheikh al-Hujeiri added that they came under fire on their way back in the town of al-Massayda.
On Saturday (August 30), the al-Nusra Front released four LAF soldiers and one Internal Security Forces member it had kidnapped during the clashes with the Lebanese Army in Arsal earlier in August.
The five men were identified as Ahmad Ghieh, Ibrahim Shaaban, Saleh al-Baradei, Mohammad al-Qaderi and Wael Darwish.
Clashes flared up on August 1 when Syrian gunmen deployed across the region after the Lebanese Armed Forces arrested Imad Jomaa at a checkpoint. The clashes left at least 20 soldiers dead and 86 injured and some 30 kidnapped.
Imad Jomaa, the Fajr al-Islam Brigade leader, was accused along with other Syrian nationals, of belonging to armed terrorist organizations, carrying out terrorist attacks and attempting to control Lebanese regions in a bid to establish their "emirate".
On Thursday (August 07), a military source stated that a truce in Arsal appeared to be holding and the situation in the border town was quiet.
The Muslim Scholars Association had launched an initiative to ensure the return of the kidnapped soldiers and served as a mediator between the gunmen and the Lebanese authorities.
Later on, the Association declared that it will suspend all activities to make way for other sides to deploy efforts in this regard.
The gunmen had issued a list of demands, which include the release of several Islamist inmates from the infamous Roumieh prison. A demand the interior minister had rejected.
Lebanese security officials say the fighters include members of al Qaeda's Syria branch, the Nusra Front, and an al Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.
On August 28, the Islamic State posted photos and a video online reportedly depicting a militant beheading a blindfolded hostage who was identified as LAF Sergeant Ali al-Sayyed.
In a similar incident, Islamic State militants executed a captive Lebanese soldier, images published on social media showed on Saturday (Sept. 06), the second Lebanese soldier to be killed in captivity by the group since it raided Arsal last month.
For more details, watch Foutoun Raad's full report in the video above
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