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Lebanon demands for Turkey to intervene in negotiations to free soldiers

September 23, 2014 at 10:58 am

Sources that are following closely the situation of the Lebanese military officers who were kidnapped by the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front in Syria have revealed that the Lebanese government is going to request for the Turkish side to take control over the negotiations with these organisations after the success it achieved in the liberation of the Turkish hostages being held by the Islamic State in Mosul, Al-Quds newspaper reported.

The abducted soldiers were kidnapped in Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, during fighting that started last August between the Lebanese army and forces fighting with the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front. The incident is still amongst the most pressing political concerns in Lebanon, in light of the talk about halting negotiations, which Qatar has been leading.

The sources believe that Sunday’s military escalation by the Lebanese army will reflect negatively on these negotiations. They posed questions such as, “How could the Lebanese government decide to complete the negotiations while, at the same time, opting for the military option and arresting displaced Syrians randomly?”

The sources also noted that, “This military escalation may be exploited by the militants in Arsal, who could kill the soldiers and then claim that they were killed during the shelling.”