Masri Warns Collapse of Negotiations with Islamists Threatens Lives of Hostages

Salafist cleric Wissam al-Masri warned on Saturday that the failure to strike a deal with the Islamist militants, who are holding several Lebanese soldiers and policemen captive, threatens the lives of the servicemen, revealing that he will head to the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal soon.

“We are exerting all efforts to resolve the case,” Masri said in an interview with As Safir newspaper, expressing belief that the servicemen “will not be well if the negotiations collapsed.”

“The abductors have previously stressed that they will not wait for long.”

The cleric revealed to his interviewer that he is waiting for the kidnappers to contact him in order to head back to the outskirts of Arsal.

“They will supposedly hand me over their official demands and maybe a pledge not kill any of the captives,” Masri said.

He called on the Lebanese state and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to take serious action and present practical solutions.

Masri said Friday that he had met with IS leaders the day before in Qalamoun, Syria, near the Lebanese border and seen nine of the soldiers.

The Sheikh said that his initiative is individual as “none of the sides tasked me with the negotiations in public.”

“We have broke the ice by meeting the IS leaders and the captives, which is a positive step.”

The kidnapped soldiers and policemen were taken hostage after the al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front and the IS group overran Arsal in August.

Four captives have been executed so far, and the jihadists have threatened to kill the remaining hostages unless there is a deal to free Islamist prisoners in Lebanon.

“The main reason behind my initiative is the dire situation of the Syrian refugees and the oppression against them,” Masri told As Safir daily.

The Sheikh said that the captive servicemen are in “high spirit,” saying: “They are treated well.”

Masri remarked that the IS fighters “expressed anger the state's handling of Hizbullah intervention in the war raging in the neighboring country Syria.”

The Salafist cleric said that he didn't meet with al-Nusra Front leaders due to heavy shelling on the outskirts of Arsal, expressing hope that in the upcoming stage he will meet with them.

On Friday, a French-speaking jihadist threatened to execute Lebanese soldiers held hostage by the IS group, saying three prominent anti-IS Lebanese politicians would be responsible for their deaths.

The threat was made in a video Agence France Presse obtained from al-Masri.

The speaker attacked the Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblatt for what he said is their support for Hizbullah, whose fighters are aiding Syrian President Bashar Assad in the civil war against largely Sunni Muslim rebels that include IS.

"You are certainly criminals, but you have added to your crimes today by your collaboration with Hizbullah and your transformation of the Lebanese army into a mere puppet in the hands of Hizbullah, with which it oppresses Sunnis."

IS is a radical Sunni organization that considers Shiite Muslims to be heretics. It has murdered many of them in a campaign of atrocities in areas under its control in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

"You are therefore responsible for the fate of your fellow citizens. Their future, their life and death, depends on your next decision," he said without making any specific demands of the three men.

However, the jihadists have demanded that Islamist prisoners held in Lebanese jails be released in exchange for the hostages.