Will Bishops Be Included in Deal To Release Lebanese Detainees?
New information suggests that a deal is near to secure the release of nine Lebanese citizens detained in Syria in March, but questions remain about two kidnapped bishops' fate.
A Lebanese minister confirmed to Al-Monitor that he has completely freed up his schedule for the next few days, and will keep his mobile phone at his side until the end of the Eid al-Adha holiday, which lasts from Oct. 15-17. He said he is waiting for a call from a Lebanese security official, who will tell him to take a plane to somewhere in Syria or Turkey to meet the Lebanese citizens who were kidnapped in Azaz and escort them back to Lebanon. Are his calculations true? What about the two bishops who were kidnapped [in Syria] as well? All indicators in Beirut point to the fact that the mediation carried out by the general director of Lebanese General Security, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, to free the kidnapped citizens has succeeded, or is nearing success.
Ibrahim had launched a highly professional negotiation process for this purpose. These negotiations involved multiple parties and trips to a variety of capitals. He undertook a series of shuttle visits between Doha, Ankara, Damascus and even Berlin — amid complete secrecy regarding the details of his movements — which appears to have resulted in a fundamental breakthrough in the case of the kidnapped Lebanese citizens.
Informed sources in Beirut confirmed to Al-Monitor that the settlement of this issue — which has been ongoing for about 17 months — was based on the principle of a comprehensive deal. It was carried out according to a program that involved the following steps: First, releasing about 107 members of the Syrian opposition held in Syrian prisons. Second, the armed Syrian opposition will release the nine Lebanese citizens who were kidnapped in Azaz, along the Turkish-Syrian border, on March 22, 2012. Third, when the detained Lebanese arrive in Beirut, the two Turkish pilots who were kidnapped on Aug. 9, 2013, will be released. According to the sources, the unknown assailants who kidnapped the pilots announced their readiness to release them immediately after the Lebanese citizens are freed.
While all of the concerned parties are expecting the deal to be completed before the Eid al-Adha holiday — which carries much humanitarian significance, since it would allow the kidnapped Muslims to spend the holiday with their families at home — some in Beirut are questioning what allowed the deal to be carried out now, after several previous attempts failed.
