Relatives of Lebanese hostages block airport road

Relatives of 11 pilgrims who were recently kidnapped in Syria briefly blocked the airport road Thursday afternoon, demanding action and information from the government. On May 22, 11 male pilgrims were kidnapped in the Syrian province of Aleppo shortly after crossing the border from Turkey. The women and elderly men were set free and returned to Lebanon soon after the abduction. Around 75 relatives blocked the road leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport, near the headquarters of the Higher Islamic Council in Beirut, for a few hours, while security personnel and members of “local political parties” worked to re-open the road, according to the National News Agency. An unknown Syrian rebel group claimed the abduction of the Lebanese pilgrims and said that releasing them was contingent on Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah apologizing for his support of Syria. In response to the rebel group’s demands, Nasrallah said last week the kidnappers should separate the humanitarian aspect of the case from political disagreements they may have with him or the resistance group. He also urged them to release the 11 men. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week his country would continue “intensive efforts” to secure the release of the hostages. Turkey’s ambassador to Lebanon, Inan Ozyildiz, said Thursday his country was “following up” on the case. After meeting with the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, Ozyildiz also said there was no negative news about the pilgrims’ condition.