Freed Lebanese hostages arrive at Turkish border

Eleven Lebanese hostages kidnapped in Syria arrived to the Turkish borders Friday, and  are expected to board a flight back to Beirut, according to the al-Arabiya news agency. The news agency reported that, earlier Friday, an Islamist cleric who was supposedly brokering their release, announced that they will be freed “within hours”. “The process is in its final stages, they will be released within hours God willing,” Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zoaby told Reuters. The kidnapping of the Lebanese triggered protests in Beirut and raised fears it could ignite sectarian conflict in Lebanon. The hostages were among a group of Shiite pilgrims returning to Lebanon from Iran, when gunmen stopped their bus after it crossed into Syria from Turkey on Tuesday. Some of those released said the gunmen were from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), an umbrella organisation led by exiled army defectors, fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad. However, the FSA has denied any connection to the kidnapping pilgrims and said it was making “every effort” to locate and release the group. FSA official spokesman, Colonel Kassem Saadeddine said in a statement: “The leadership is making every effort to find out where the abductees are, and to make sure they are freed”. Saadeddine reiterated that the FSA had no involvement in this week’s kidnappings, condemning “all kidnapping operations, regardless of their nationality or religious belief or sect.” However, at the same time, he complained over the treatment of Syrian refugees and anti-regime figures in Lebanon. Saadeddine said: “Revolutionary Syrians in Lebanon have faced persecution, kidnap and murder .We will no longer be silent on any action carried out by any Lebanese parties affecting Syrians in Lebanon”. The FSA spokesman urged: “the Lebanese state should take full responsibility in hosting and protecting Syrian refugees in Lebanon, where the government is dominated by a coalition that supports Syria’s regime”. The kidnappings came at a time of deep tension in Lebanon over Syria. News of the abduction on Tuesday night sparked protests in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where residents burned tyres and blocked roads. Syria’s uprising began in March 2011 with mostly peaceful calls for reform, but the government’s brutal crackdown on dissent led many in the opposition to take up arms. The UN estimates more than 9,000 people have been killed.