Abou Faour Says 'Sacrifices' Should be Made to Release Abductees

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour expressed hope that the case of the abducted soldiers and policemen would witness a breakthrough in the upcoming days, stressing that “sacrifices” should be made.

“The cabinet will continue the serious negotiations that should lead to the release of the abductees,” Abou Faour told reporters at the Grand Serail after meeting with Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

The minister described the matter as a “priority.”

He pointed out that the cabinet will keep on following up the case until it reaches its “happy ending.”

The soldiers and policemen were abducted by Islamist gunmen in August in the wake of clashes with the army in northeastern town of Arsal.

Three of the captives have since been executed, a few were released, while the rest remain held by al-Nusra Front and Islamic State gunmen from Syria.

The families of the hostages have staged demonstrations and blocked roads throughout Lebanon to pressure the government to exert more efforts to release them.

Abou Faour, who is also the aide of Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat, considered that a swap with gunmen is a “possible” solution to end the kidnapping ordeal.

“All sacrifices must be made even if we had to exchange Roumieh prison inmates with the kidnapped servicemen,” he told reporters.

The PSP official noted that there's no shame in carrying out such a deal as “we are not more influential than Turkey that swapped prisoners to free diplomats...Or the United States that exchanged prisoners with Taliban.”

Abou Faour added that the “authority of the state” would be safeguarded by the return of its citizens.

He stressed that Qatar is the key negotiator in the case of the abductees.

A Qatari mediator was carrying out negotiations to release the hostages, but media reports said that he withdrew from the case after the talks stalled.

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