Report: U.S., France Pressured Qatar over Arsal Mediation, Receives 'List of Demands'
The Qatari envoy who is in the outskirts of Arsal to negotiate in the case of kidnapped soldiers by extremist groups since last August, received on Friday the list of demands of the abductees.
According to LBCI: “The Qatari envoy, who is in the outskirts of Arsal, received the list of demands of the soldiers' kidnappers.”
On the other hand, al-Jadeed said: “The Lebanese side has not yet received any list of demands of the Islamic State and al-Nusra.”
While, MTV reported that: “The Qatari envoy returns tomorrow morning to the outskirts of Arsal to complete the second round of negotiations about the soldiers.”
Qatar has come under U.S. and French pressure over the negotiations with the kidnappers of Lebanese soldiers and policemen amid a report of money transfers to the militants who are deployed on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Earlier on Friday As Safir newspaper said that the Qatari leadership has recently received messages from Washington and Paris to speed up its mediation in the case of the troops and police who were taken hostage in August.
Al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group took their captives from the northeastern border town of Arsal during deadly gunbattles with the Lebanese army.
Qatar's envoy went to Arsal on Thursday following the U.S. and French pressure, As Safir said.
The Western pressure from one side and the attempt of Doha to clear its image on the other, contributed to giving the mediation a new push, said the report.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden revealed last month that Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had extended "billions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons" to fighters trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
But he later apologized.
Qatar's envoy heard on Thursday the demands of the jihadists who took the Lebanese servicemen captive. There was no information on the issue on Friday.
But al-Akhbar newspaper said that huge amounts of money have been transferred to the hostage-takers in the past weeks.
Last Saturday, the Lebanese army stopped a vehicle heading to Arsal and found 250,000 dollars in cash stashed in the car, said the report.
The driver intended to deliver the money to mediators, who would in their turn take the cash to the kidnappers, it said. But the army released the man after the mediation of high-ranking officials.
Al-Akhbar quoted sources as saying that the source of the cash was Qatar. While other sources said that Lebanese figures were behind the money transfer which was aimed at paying the hostage-takers a ransom to stop the execution of one of the captives.
On Sunday, al-Nusra Front threatened to kill captive soldier Ali al-Bazzal. But it later backed down from its decision.
The jihadists from the IS and al-Nusra Front executed three of the soldiers in August and September.
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