Lebanon demands release of 9 Shiites

Director General of Lebanon’s Public Security General Abbas Ibrahim has visited Damascus to petition for the release of nine Shia nationals kidnapped in Syria, sources have revealed. Meetings were said to produce “positive results,” according to sources, as Syrian authorities provisionally agreed to a prisoner swap deal. Syrian officials reportedly demanded the release of a list of female prisoners in return for the Shitte captives. Turkish mediators have presided over negotiations since the nine prisoners were taken captive in Arsal, close to the Lebanese-Syrian border. Ibrahim will visit Ankara in coming weeks to discuss further the state of negotiations.