Relatives of Pilgrims Threaten to Hold Open-ended Strike near Turkish Embassy

The relatives of the abducted Lebanese pilgrims in Syria's Aazaz held a protest on Monday near Turkish airlines offices in al-Azarieh building in downtown Beirut, threatening to stage an open-ended sit-in near the Turkish embassy in Rabieh.

“We will go ahead with our sit-ins near the Turkish airlines offices and we will stage an open-ended sit-in near the Turkish embassy when the weather improves,” Adham Zogheib, the son of one of the kidnapped men, told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

He pointed out that the relatives will carry out any action that halts inbound and outbound Turkish flights in Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport.

“We will not back down,” Zogheib said.

The families reiterated threats to escalate their endeavors if President Michel Suleiman didn't summon Turkey's ambassador Inan Ozyildiz within 48 hours.

“We will close the airport road,” they added.

Eleven men were kidnapped in May 2012 in northern Syria's Aleppo province as they returned by land from a pilgrimage in Iran. Two of them were released in August and September.

They were later taken to the Aleppo town of Aazaz.

Protesters on Monday also blocked briefly the entrance of the Turkish Cultural Center in downtown Beirut, near the Turkish airlines offices, and erected a tent in the middle of the street.

Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who has been tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up the case, praised the endeavors of relatives saying: “They didn't carry out any violent action.”

“They shouldn't be held responsible if they escalated their measure... But we all reject any abduction as it destabilizes the security situation,” Zgheib added.

The kidnapping was claimed by a man who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim and says he is a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army, but the opposition group denies any involvement in the abductions.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Northern Storm Brigade said that the case will witness an important positive breakthrough within the next 10 days.

Last week, the families of the pilgrims stopped Syrian workers in Beirut and its suburbs from going to work in a bid to put pressure on those holding their relatives.

They also held two other protests last week near the Turkish embassy and on Monday the families scuffled with army troops during a protest they held near the Turkish embassy.