Beirut: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Lebanese citizens kidnapped in Syria were freed and handed over to Turkish authorities, media reported on Friday.
The abductions sparked angry protests in his country where sectarian tensions have flared over Syria’s turmoil.
The kidnapping of the Lebanese, who were snatched in northern Syria this week as they returned from a pilgrimage in Iran, was the latest incident in the 14-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to entangle neighboring Lebanon.
Fighting erupted in that region two weeks ago between Sunni Islamist gunmen, the Lebanese army and Lebanese members of the Alawite sect to which Syria’s rulers belong over the arrest a Lebanese Islamist suspected of funneling arms to the Sunni Muslim insurgents fighting against Assad.
“Thanks to God their transfer is complete … they have been handed to the Turkish authorities,” said a statement from Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zoaby, a Muslim cleric who had mediated for the release of the hostages, Reuters reported.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Turkey confirmed the hostages were free, and would be in Beirut shortly.
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