"Hostage pilgrims are safe and sound," Syrian opposition sources quoted one of those responsible for the detention as saying, after the two sides met in a major Arab capital.
Nidal Hmedeh
"Hostage pilgrims are safe and sound," Syrian opposition sources quoted one of those responsible for the detention as saying, after the two sides met in a major Arab capital. At least till Wednesday evening, there were no worries about any of the pilgrims.
The detention matches that of the Iranian engineers...
Qatari Salafist Abdulsalam Al-Nu'aimi stated that he had personally delivered Qatari money to the kidnappers of the Iranian Engineers North of Lebanon. In his private meetings, Al-Nu'aimi boasts that he was able to delay their release one full month, and he transferred Qatari money with a letter sent to the kidnappers residing in North Lebanon.
“Our message was not to hand them over to the Turks because they will send them back to Iran", he added. Not to mention, Al-Nu'aimi regularly visits Paris and Beirut. He has a diplomatic passport. He funds Hareth Al-Dhari, and is a friend of the Kuwaiti Salafist MP Walid Tabataba'i, the owner of Wissal Channel on which Adnan Al-A'r'our appears.
In another context, the French daily "Le Figaro" mentioned that Al-Nu'aimi funds, as many others, Syrian Salafist groups throughout North Lebanon.
Many misguiding details branched from the detention of Iranians, kidnappers' names were multiple and hostages were separated as well. The kidnappers, lead by the dissident officer (Abou Al-Sell) from the frontier to Jordan (Nawa) city, handed over the detainees to Abdulrazzak Tlas, who, in turn, handed them over to Sheikh Al-Zu'bi. The latter was immune by Salafist groups and Sheikhs in North Lebanon before he left the country to shift his residence between both Istanbul and Riyadh. Abou Al-Sell, however, left the country after the downfall of Baba Amro. Nowadays, he lives in the suburbs of Damascus.
Turkish role was major in this case. Unless Iranians proved to Erdogan that he can do everything, and he must stop playing with them, Iranian engineers would have been detained till the moment.
Back to the Lebanese pilgrims, the responsible side said that hostages are in a Turkish point that is 500 meters from the frontier and kept open for armed Syrian groups and its ever-branched divisions to move out. The same source indicated that the kidnappers are Ammar Al-Wawi and Azzaz group. Names and propagandas are numerous, yet the guardian is the Turkish Intellignece (Ammar says to his associate Erdogan.)
Different Syrian opposition sources indicated that changing names, adopting the kidnapping, then repudiating it are among a strategy to misguide, deceive, and dilute the case. This is the typical job of Turkish Intelligence which was also used when the Iranian Engineers were kidnapped.
The Syrian guardian stated that numerous sides are involved in the operation and hostages entered the financial stock exchange market. Qatar was the first to offer the kidnappers through Burhan Ghalioun seven million dollars in order to retain the hostages. Ghalioun said to Ammar Al-Wawi and Riyadh Al-As'ad that this represented a huge benefit.
On its own, Saudi Arabia started speculating and raised the offer. It also asked the kidnappers through the General Authority for Syrian Revolt to retain hostages in exchange for any desired amount of money; the treasure deserves.
The American Israeli intervention is not surprising at all. A Syrian local coordinative activist stated that this is true in a call with other Syrian sides in the West. The case is greater than Al-Wawi and the Free Syrian Army, America and Israel are in, he added.
Africa and Middle East research Director in the International Relations and Foreign Dialogue Institution in Spain, Mikael Berrah, of Syrian origin, noted in a call that Turks' retract about their premier announcement concerning having the hostages in their land was due to an American veto because Hezbollah is concerned about them. He also doesn't see that the operation was Turkish organized because this would lead to problems and incredibility. They exploited the events, however, even they won't get benefits, yet contributing in releasing the detainees doesn't match with their benefit. For this reason, Turks didn't decisively intervene yet.
We contacted the head of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman, who asked a critical question: Why the hostages were with the Turks and why they aren't anymore? Armed groups in the region, although diversely funded, are all related to the Turkish Intelligence for Turks are providing the backward bases for fleeing, supplying, armament, and all what they need to be used against the regime, he added.
The Unsound Turkey...
A Kurdish activist in Paris views Turkey's domestic situation as the cobweb. The Turkish situation is highly nominated to resemble the Syrian one; Turkey is neither more stable nor solid. The pro-Kurdistan Workers' Party Kurdish activists reported violent clashes in one Turkish city last weekend between Kurdish armed groups connected to the Kurdistan Party and the Turkish Army. Media outlets remained mute about the incident. Activists mentioned that Turkish Command of Staff issued a statement in which it listed that the command interrupted a call between the Kurdish group leader and his leadership in the Qandil Mountains. In the call, the leader says that the battle reminds them about the year 1973 when Turks used artillery and aircraft. Activists in contact with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party asserted that tens of attacks are launched against police stations and army centers all around Turkey, but either the Turkish media or the international are reporting them.
This group also confirms that those who want to confront Turkey must help them, “We seek gathering arms and simple techniques to alter the struggle towards our sake.” The group specifies that the weapon is represented by Kornet missiles that will topple the Turkish army in the steep Qandil Mountains to give up moving by vehicles and start moving in the form of infantry and difficult and expensive air bailout. As for the simple techniques, considered the first step to change the path of the Turkish-Kurdish struggle, will remain obscure until the convenient timing of announcing them comes.
To read the Arabic version of this article, click here
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