(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - After a fruitless eight months, the families of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims kidnapped by an armed group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army are fed up with the lack of action, and are taking matters into their own hands.The hostages’ families began 2013 by sealing shut the entrance to the Turkish Airlines office in Beirut with red wax. A week later, they staged a protest outside the Qatari embassy, accusing the Gulf state of being complicit in the kidnapping and detention of their loved ones in Syria.They have even threatened to boycott Turkish products and interests in Lebanon unless their family members are released.Daniel Shoaib, whose brother Abbas is one of the hostages, told Al Jazeera: “No one is doing anything to secure their release, and we hold Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia responsible for the situation.”According to a senior Lebanese security official working on the case, all avenues have been exhausted, forcing local intelligence agencies to explore alternative channels.“We are not negotiating with the kidnappers directly, and the governments mediators are not interested in advancing the case,” the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Al Jazeera./129
10 February 2013 - 20:30
News ID: 389876
After a fruitless eight months, the families of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims kidnapped by an armed group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army are fed up with the lack of action, and are taking matters into their own hands.
