Kidnap negotiations underway in Lebanon

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has called for a step-up in negotiations to free nine Shiites kidnapped in Azaz inside Syria, urging Turkish authorities to assist in freeing the prisoners. The nine men were kidnapped by Syrian rebels in Aleppo province as they returned home from a pilgrimage in Iran last May. Sleiman has “called on Turkey to exert more pressure in facilitating the release of the Lebanese captives,” according to a presidential statement. “Such pressure will improve ties between the two countries and strengthen relations,” the statement added. Lebanon’s president met with Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim on Wednesday, thanking Ankara for working alongside United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel is also pushing to release the men kidnapped in Azaz in 2011.