Berri Meets Families of 11 Pilgrims, Vows to Follow up on Case until They are Released

Speaker Nabih Berri met on Monday with a delegation from the families of the 11 abducted Lebanese pilgrims.

He vowed before them to “follow up on their case until they are released.”

For their part, the families said after the meeting at Ain el-Tineh that they will allow officials to exert more efforts to ensure their release.

They added however that their patience has limits.

The families had previously expressed their anger at the government’s failure to achieve progress in the matter going so far as blocking the airport road in protest on June 7.

The pilgrims were kidnapped on May 22 in the Syrian city of Aleppo as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from a pilgrimage in Iran.

Their location remains unknown amid conflicting reports that they had entered Turkish territory.

Turkey had exerted efforts to ensure their release, but they have yet to yield any results.

No side has so far claimed responsibility for the abduction, but various sides had been accused of being behind the incident, including the Free Syrian Army, which has denied any involvement in the case.