DAILY SCOPE: Terrorists Blackmail Families of Kidnapped Soldiers, Government

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:

ASSAFIR:

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AN-NAHAR:

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AL-AKHBAR:

Abu Faour Makes Deal with Kidnappers: Open Roads in Exchange for Postponement of "Discrimination"

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AD-DIYAR:

Precious Catch for Army Intelligence in Chtoura: 4 Daesh Leaders Arrested

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THE GUARDIAN:

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The Lebanese army registers a new accomplishment arresting 4 kingpins of the terrorist groups. The army had arrested a terrorist group of 3 Syrians earlier, heading from Arsal outskirts to Shebaa region. Meanwhile, the terrorist groups continue to blackmail the families of the abducted soldiers as well as the Lebanese government, in an attempt to cause chaos and sow strife among the people.

As-Safir newspaper said on Tuesday that the Lebanese army intelligence succeeded in arresting four men belonging to the terrorist groups, as they were passing in the town of Chtoura.

The paper said the army continues its security plan, through which it was able to arrest the terrorist cell. Syrian terrorist, Yasser al-Ayrouti, and three others were detained in West Bekaa as they were on their way from the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

The detainees are comprised of two prominent leaders from the Free Syrian Army, a leader from the so called "ISIL", and another from the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front. Sources told as-Safir the four had received orders to smuggle into al-Arkoub region, particularly Shebaa region.

The daily, on a related note said that tension has been on the rise due to the ongoing threats that the terrorist groups would execute the Lebanese soldiers, by that blackmailing the Lebanese government to release some of the major terrorist prisoners belonging to Fath al-Islam and other extremist movements.

On another note, security sources told As-Safir that the terrorist Shadi al-Mawlawi is in Ain al-Helwe camp, pointing out that the Palestinian camp sources had leaked the information. Same sources affirmed that Ahmad al-Assir resides in the camp as well.

For its part, al-Akhbar newspaper said the abductors of the Lebanese soldiers have been blackmailing their families, asking them to block the roads and streets, to put pressure on the government.
The relatives of abducted soldiers and policemen briefly blocked on Monday several roads in the capital Beirut to demand the judiciary to lift sanctions against several Islamist inmates after jihadists threatened to start killing the captives.

Several attempts were made by MPs and ministers but the attempts failed, said the paper, until Health Minister Wael Abu Faour held a series of phone calls, and succeeded in convincing the abductors that the government will issue amnesty orders but the process needs a few days.

Al-Nusra and the "ISIL" groups have been holding several troops and policemen hostage since August 2, when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal and engaged in bloody clashes with the army.

The two groups have since executed three troops and threatened to murder more hostages if Lebanese authorities didn't fulfill their demands.

On another note, an-Nahar newspaper quoted PM Tamam Salam saying that "Terrorism is imposing conditions on us." He stressed that negotiations regarding the kidnapped soldiers' issue have not been made over Lebanon but they aim at releasing the kidnapped.

Salam said "we will not be blackmailed, nor shall we be weak and lenient before threats."
In that respect, he called on the Lebanese people to show solidarity. Salam said Lebanon was not a suitable environment for terrorism and that the waves of security chaos have been spread everywhere in the region, not only in Lebanon.
"The Lebanese people agree upon the security dossier and agree upon not resorting to weapons," he said during a reception ceremony held by the Lebanese Diaspora in Dubai.
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More than 35 million people around the world are trapped in a modern form of slavery, according to a report highlighting the prevalence of forced labour, human trafficking, forced marriages, debt bondage and commerical sexual exploitation, said the Guardian on Tuesday.

The Walk Free Foundation (WFF), an Australia-based NGO that publishes the annual global slavery index, said that as a result of better data and improved methodology it had increased its estimate 23% in the past year.
Five countries accounted for 61% of slavery, although it was found in all 167 countries covered by the report, including the UK.

India was top of the list with about 14.29 million enslaved people, followed by China with 3.24 million, Pakistan 2.06 million, Uzbekistan 1.2 million, and Russia 1.05 million.

Mauritania had the highest proportion of its population in modern slavery, at 4%, followed by Uzbekistan with 3.97%, Haiti 2.3%, Qatar 1.36% and India 1.14%.
Andrew Forrest, the chairman and founder of WFF - which is campaigning for the end of slavery within a generation - said: "There is an assumption that slavery is an issue from a bygone era. Or that it only exists in countries ravaged by war and poverty.

"These findings show that modern slavery exists in every country. We are all responsible for the most appalling situations where modern slavery exists and the desperate misery it brings upon our fellow human beings.

"The first step in eradicating slavery is to measure it. And with that critical information, we must all come together - governments, businesses and civil society - to finally bring an end to the most severe form of exploitation."

Countries identified as leading the fight to end modern slavery include Australia, Austria, Georgia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Only Australia, Brazil and the US, however, were making efforts to address the issue in government procurement and the supply chains of businesses operating in there.

Source: Al-Ahed news