True||Relatives of nine Lebanese hostages held in Syria renewed protests against Turkish groups in Lebanon Friday because of ongoing fighting where the hostages were being held.||

BEIRUT: Relatives of nine Lebanese hostages held in Syria renewed protests against Turkish groups in Lebanon Friday because of ongoing fighting where the hostages were being held.

“We are trying to press for the release of our family because we are concerned about their safety after what has happened,” Said Saleh, one of the relatives, told The Daily Star.

Though the families received assurances the hostages were safe, “no one knows what can happen,” Saleh said.

A group of the relatives, mainly women and children, gathered at the Azarieh building complex in Downtown to protest near a Turkish Airlines office and a Turkish cultural center.

Some of them tried to break into the cultural center, hang posters and spray paint calls for the hostages’ release.

Free Syrian Army rebel fighters and radical Islamists have in recent days battled for control of rebel-held areas around Syria and particularly in Azaz, in the province of Aleppo, where the hostages were believed to be held.

Activists said Thursday that FSA rebels had agreed to a truce with the jihadists to end battles over the town.

A group of 11 Lebanese Shiite men were kidnapped in Azaz by Syrian rebels in May 2012. Two of the men have since been released.

A government committee tasked with following up on the Lebanese held in Syria met to discuss recent developments in the case. The committee confirmed that the nine pilgrims were safe.

“The kidnapped are in good health and they have been moved out of Azaz into a safe area,” caretaker Labor Minister Salim Jreissati told reporters after the meeting.

Jreissati added that the men remain in Syrian territory, while some of the relatives claim the kidnapped were transferred to Turkey.

Although Jreissati said there was no additional information with regard to the case, he said negotiations have intensified with the kidnappers.

“The military developments did not affect the course of the negotiations ... which could succeed by producing practical steps,” he said.

The minister also condemned any attacks on Turkish citizens and interests and refered to the relatives’ protests, saying: “We are in contact with the families and they recognize the difficulties in this case.”

At the main entrance of the complex, the families gathered as their spokesperson, Hayat Awali, was threatening further action and protests against Turkish interests. “We blame the Turkish state for any harm that can happen to the hostages,” she said, also blaming the Lebanese government for its failure to produce a breakthrough.

Saleh said Awad Ibrahim, one of the two released Lebanese, maintains contact with one of the guards among the kidnappers and the guard had reassured Ibrahim the hostages were away from where the fighting was taking place.

“We received reassurances from General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim as well but are concerned that the battles might spread,” Saleh said.

But he added that “the Turks will be keen on the safety of the hostages.”

“They have two Turkish nationals kidnapped in Lebanon and a lot of Turks in Lebanon. They would not risk the safety of the hostages,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Abbas Zogheib, who was tasked by the Higher Shiite Council to follow up on the case of the Lebanese in Syria, said the relatives filed a lawsuit against the Turkish government at the European Court of Human Rights.

“Today, we filed a lawsuit against the Turkish government at the European Court of Human Rights, and I am certain the nine Lebanese are in a [location] under the jurisdiction of the Turkish state and they are fine,” Zogheib told the National News Agency.

||null||http://www.dailystar.com.lb/PaymentRequest.aspx?username=&guid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000||