Lebanese officials skeptical remainder of pilgrims to be released soon

The release of one of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria created an air of optimism in Lebanon that the rest of his colleagues may be released soon, especially in light of al-Meqdad clan’s military wing’s release of a number of Syrian captives as gesture of goodwill to the development, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday. Widely-informed sources however revealed to the daily that Lebanese officials “have voiced reservations” that the remainder of the pilgrims may be released soon. They explained that this skepticism stems from their keenness to ensure the success of ongoing efforts to release the remainder of the captives. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told the daily that he had received a message from the Turkish head of intelligence Hakan Fidan on his country’s efforts to release the ten pilgrims. Hussein Ali Omar was released by his Syrian captors on Saturday after being kidnapped, along with ten of his colleagues, in Syria in May as they were making their way back to Lebanon from a pilgrimage in Iran. Charbel denied that the Turkish officials had conditioned the release of abducted Turkish nationals in Lebanon to continue their efforts. On Omar’s remarks that the rest of the pilgrims will be released “within five days”, the minister said that his statements were made during the heat of the moment of his release. Omar told reporters that the ten men are in a good health, thanking the media for their efforts. “I call on the Turkish authorities to exert efforts to free the remaining Lebanese in Syria,” Omar said. “We were treated well and the remaining 10 Lebanese are in good health,” he added.