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Loyal to the Pledge

Awad Ibrahim into Freedom

Awad Ibrahim into Freedom
folder_openLebanon access_time12 years ago
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Local Editor

After more than four months in captivity of Syrian rebels, Awad Ibrahim returned to Beirut Wednesday, becoming the second of 11 pilgrims freed.
Awad Ibrahim into Freedom
Fireworks and jubilant crowds welcomed Ibrahim as his convoy arrived to Beirut's southern suburbs.
Syrian rebels abducted Ibrahim, 47, and 10 other Lebanese civilians outside Aleppo while returning from a pilgrimage in Iran in May.
Upon arriving to Rafik Hariri International Airport Wednesday evening onboard a commercial Turkish Airlines jet, Ibrahim's friends and relatives carried him on their shoulders into the airport's official reception hall where he was welcomed by his family and politicians.

"I hope all the other pilgrims will also be released today before tomorrow," Ibrahim said in his first comments to reporters after arriving in Lebanon.
For his part, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and other political figures welcomed Ibrahim at the airport.
Voicing hope that the remaining hostages would also be released, Charbel said all of the hostage pilgrims in Syria are innocent.
"The captors will soon discover that all the pilgrims are innocent and they shouldn't be held for another day in Syria," Charbel said, and added that Turkish authorities are the only source of information for Lebanese officials.

"We all take our information from Turkish authorities and we thank them because they have done more than they are expected to do," he added.
Ibrahim's journey to Beirut started Tuesday morning, when his captors drove him from the town of Azaz, leaving him at the nearby Turkish border crossing Kilis. From there, Turkish intelligence personnel transferred him to Gaziantep where he traveled to Turkey's capital Ankara.
After spending 24 hours in Ankara, Ibrahim traveled to Istanbul and then to Beirut accompanied by two Lebanese Interior Ministry officials.

Source: Daily Star, Edited by moqawama.org

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