Qatar had warned Lebanon Friday that the Nusra Front was about to start executing Lebanese captives, a newspaper report said Sunday.
Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday that a Qatari delegation that had been expected in Lebanon Friday did not come, with Qatar instead informing the Lebanese government that the Nusra Front would execute one soldier after another if its demands weren’t met.
According to Al-Hayat, the Nusra Front is demanding the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanon and the opening of roads linking Arsal to its outskirts in exchange for releasing the hostages it captured during battles with the Lebanese Army in August. Nusra and ISIS are thought to be holding at least 21 soldiers, after capturing more than 30 when they withdrew from the border town.
The report also mentioned that sources from Arsal had stressed that the negotiations had been stopped in the last couple of days due to the blocking of the road toward the outskirts. The Nusra Front announced last Tuesday that the negotiations were stopped by the Lebanese side.
The Lebanese Army announced Saturday, after the execution of Mohammad Hammieh and the blast that killed two soldiers in Arsal the day before, that it has begun pounding militants’ locations near the town with medium and heavy weapons.
The Army said it was able to kill and wound “a large number” of militants, pledging to continue the fight against terrorism all over the Lebanese territory “whatever the sacrifices might be.”
In response, the Nusra Front threatened to execute another captive, policeman Ali Bazzal.
