The families of the 25 servicemen being held hostage by militants on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal met Thursday with the Turkish ambassador to Lebanon in an attempt to secure the release of their loved ones.
"The ambassador informed us that the Turkish state is in conflict with the gunmen and there's no possible means to communicate with them," Hussein Youssef, the father of hostage Mohammad Youssef, told The Daily Star, after meeting with the Turkish Ambassador Cagatay Erciyes at the mission in Rabieh.
Youssef said that the delegation of families spoke during the meeting "of their suffering, pain and tears in hopes that the ambassador would convey them to (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan."
He expressed hope that Ankara would contribute positively to the case "from a humanitarian aspect."
The anguished man said that the families are exerting tremendous efforts to resolve the case of the servicemen and secure their release by heading to "influential" embassies to seek help.
Youssef said that the relatives only want "to send a vital message to heads of states, maybe they could help us."
"We hope that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Erdogan would intervene and not abandon us," members of the families told reporters after the meeting.
Last month the families met with the Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Bin Hamad Al-Marri for the same purpose.
Family members of the 25 hostages reiterated their readiness to do anything to revive the case and press it forward after the Lebanese state abandoned them.
Daesh and al-Nusra Front have been holding 25 policemen and soldiers hostage since August 2014, when the militants briefly overran Arsal.
By Hanan Khaled
