Lebanon: Negotiations with IS to resume over abducted soldiers
Lebanon: Negotiations with IS to resume over abducted soldiers
Negotiations with the Islamic State terror group to secure the release of Lebanese soldiers and a number of civilians have resumed, said a meditator on Monday
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Nine Lebanese service men and two civilians are still held hostage by IS [AFP]
Negotiations with the Islamic State terror group to secure the release of Lebanese soldiers and a number of civilians have resumed, said Nabil al-Halabi, lawyer and director of the Life human rights group on Monday.
Halabi said he has re-launched negotiations with IS through an intermediary outside Lebanon for the release of nine Lebanese servicemen, a Lebanese journalist and a woman believed to have been working for the International Red Cross when she was abducted.
"The group had agreed to give proof of life for the hostages (with the exception of one soldier)", Halabi said in a statement.
Halabi was briefly arrested in April after a dispute with the Lebanese interior minister. His detention was criticised at the time by local and international rights groups.
Halabi told The New Arab he remains an acceptable mediator to both the Lebanese government and IS, and would resume his efforts in earnest in mid-August after contacting all parties.
In December 2015, Lebanon was able to secure the release of sixteen servicemen abducted by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front.
They had been captured by Nusra and IS during a raid on a border village in Lebanon.
Halabi said he has re-launched negotiations with IS through an intermediary outside Lebanon for the release of nine Lebanese servicemen, a Lebanese journalist and a woman believed to have been working for the International Red Cross when she was abducted.
"The group had agreed to give proof of life for the hostages (with the exception of one soldier)", Halabi said in a statement.
Halabi was briefly arrested in April after a dispute with the Lebanese interior minister. His detention was criticised at the time by local and international rights groups.
Halabi told The New Arab he remains an acceptable mediator to both the Lebanese government and IS, and would resume his efforts in earnest in mid-August after contacting all parties.
In December 2015, Lebanon was able to secure the release of sixteen servicemen abducted by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front.
They had been captured by Nusra and IS during a raid on a border village in Lebanon.
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