Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Wednesday that a group of Lebanese citizens kidnapped in Syria would be freed "within hours."
Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Wednesday that a group of Lebanese citizens kidnapped in Syria would be freed "within hours."
“I received a call on (Tuesday) evening from an Arab dignitary telling me that the contacts he had made revealed the whereabouts of the abductees and that they will be released in the coming hours,” Mansour told al-Jadeed local news network.
The minister also said that the kidnapping incident was “not related to the policy of dissociating Lebanon from the Syrian crisis.”
He identified the men behind the abductions as "a splinter group of the armed Syrian opposition," but did not give details.
The Lebanese citizens – reports put their number between 11 and 13 - were abducted as they were heading home to Lebanon from a pilgrimage in Iran. Their families and thousands of supporters poured out into the streets of Beirut late Tuesday to demand their release.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah earlier urged restraint and promised that the party will do its utmost to ensure the safe release of the men.
His eminence said contacts were underway with Syrian authorities and other countries in the region for a quick resolution.
"We will work day and night until those beloved are back with us," he vowed.
The National News Agency confirmed that the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is seeking the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's regime, had abducted 13 pilgrims in northern Aleppo province.
Syrian media said an "armed terrorist gang" had kidnapped 11 Lebanese and their Syrian driver near the town of Aazaz, along the border with Turkey. It said the men were part of a group of 53 pilgrims on board two buses.
The women were allowed to go free and returned to Beirut by plane early Wednesday.
Head of Loyalty to Resistance parliamentarian bloc MP Mohammad Raad, who was at the airport to welcome the women, said there were signs the matter would be settled "quickly."
For his party, Lebanese PM Najib Miqati's office said he was making the necessary contacts to ensure the release of the men.
"Prime Minister Miqati has urged families of the kidnapped to remain calm and assured them he was following the issue closely to ensure the safety of those abducted and their quick release," a statement said.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi voiced concern on Wednesday over the reports concerning the abduction of Lebanese nationals in Syria.
“The kidnapping of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria (while on their way back from Iran) is a dangerous (incident),” Qortbawi told local media outlet.
The minister, however, commended the “very responsible” reaction of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement “which contributed to wading off the deterioration of the situation on the internal Lebanese scene.”
Moreover, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt condemned during a phone call with Speaker Nabih Berri the abduction of Lebanese men, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday.
“Berri also received a phone call from Prime Minister Najib Miqati to discuss the efforts made to release those kidnapped,” the NNA added.
Ex-premier Saad Hariri, however, denounced the kidnapping and called for the men's immediate release.
"We condemn the kidnapping of our Lebanese brothers in Syria, regardless of the party behind the kidnapping, and we call for their immediate release," he said in a statement.
