September 2014 Highlights
​September 1 
 During a ceremony held at the Grand Serail to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the announcement of Greater Lebanon, PM Tamam Salam urges parties to elect a new Maronite president of the republic and to join forces because the battle against terrorism is still at its beginning.
 The Lebanese Army receives the body of Sergeant Ali Sayyed who was abducted earlier in Ersal and transfers it to the military hospital for identification.
 MP Walid Jumblat calls for expediting trials of Islamist detainees, stressing that trading hostages for Islamist detainees is unacceptable as it would set a dangerous precedent.
 A Free Patriotic Movement delegation visits the Muslim Scholars Committee member, Sheikh Salem al-Rafei in Tripoli.
 Mild earthquake is felt in Lebanon, particularly in the north and Beqa’a.
 ISIS reveals that Hisham al-Hajj from Tripoli was the man behind the suicide attack it launched in Iraq. Another Lebanese man from Tripoli, Zakariya Ahmad, also dies while fighting alongside militant groups in Syria.
 
September 2 
 Parliament postpones its 11th session scheduled to elect a new president until September 23 due to lack of quorum.
 Speaking in the name of March 14 Forces, former PM Fouad Seniora reiterates that the coalition’s candidate is Samir Geagea, yet reports willingness to agree on any other candidate who abides by national parameters.
 PM Tamam Salam notes during a Cabinet session held at the Grand Serail to discuss financial topics and accounting files that the financial situation is as severe as the political situation.
 Families of the military captives continue their protests and block roads in Beqa’a and North Lebanon.
 The Lebanese Customs seizes in the Witwat area of Beirut 200,000 Captagon pills that were meant for distribution in the local market.
 
September 3 
 Sergeant Ali al-Sayyed laid to rest in a solemn funeral ceremony in his hometown, Fnaideq. The martyr’s father apologizes for the verbal assaults launched by family members against the Army Commander and the politicians and considers that his son has sacrificed his life for the sake of Lebanon.
 An explosives expert at Special Tribunal for Lebanon assures that the explosives used in the Rafic Hariri assassination weighed 500 kilograms and lacked incendiary materials.
 PM Tamam Salam participates in part of the periodic meeting of the Maronite Bishops’ Council. The council’s statement regrets that Parliament has failed for the 11th time to elect a president and deplores the irresponsible acts targeting religious symbols.
 MP Walid Jumblat meets Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Seesi during his visit to Egypt.
 Speaker Nabih Berri renews during Wednesday’s parliamentary gathering his objection to prolonging the term of Parliament.
 
September 4 
 The Cabinet convenes at the Grand Serail to discuss the issue of the captives of Ersal and refuses to compromise their safety, urging the Army to take all measures necessary to release them. The families of the captives stage a protest near the Grand Serail giving the government 24 hours to free their sons and avoid sedition in Beqa’a.
 Speaker Nabih Berri submits his candidacy for parliamentary elections through one of his advisors and then leaves Lebanon on a special visit. MP Ali Bazzi also registers as candidate.
 Patriarch al-Rai attends a ceremony commemorating the 11th anniversary of the inauguration of the Bishop’s Park in Qannoubin in the presence of former President of the Republic Michel Suleiman and regrets depriving the Lebanese of a Head of State.
 ISIS militants execute a resident of Ersal, Kayed Ghadad, one week after abducting him, on charges of collaboration with Hezbollah.
 
September 5 
 A ministerial crisis-cell convenes at the Grand Serail to follow up on the captives’ crisis. Minister of National Defense, Samir Moqbel, states that the issue is now being handled through Qatar, reiterating objection to trading captives for Islamist inmates in Roumieh.
 Israel denotes the spy device it had planted in the southern town of Adloun after Hezbollah discovered it and tried to dismantle it. The blast kills a member of Hezbollah. 
 The Lebanese Army arrests the Syrian brother of ISIS leader, Abou Talal, in Beqa’a.
 A Qatari delegation is said to have entered Ersal and met ISIS and An-Nussra Front leaders to discuss the captive’s issue. Minister of the Interior and Municipalities dismisses the news as rumors.
 An-Nussra Front releases a new video footage featuring the captives, holding Hezbollah accountable for what is happening and urging the Sunni not to support the Lebanese Army.
 The Lebanese Army denies all media statements reporting the presence of ISIS militants in the outskirts of Sannine and Baskinta.
 
September 6
 During the annual mass held in Meerab under the title ‘The Martyrs of the Strong Republic’ to commemorate the martyrs of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea brands ISIS as a cancerous tumor, insinuating that the group is associated with the Syrian regime. Geagea announces his objection to self-security measures and urges the election of a president of the republic, saying that beheading the Head of State is a terrible political crime.
 ISIS announces that it has slaughtered the soldier Abbas Medlej after his attempt to escape and to open fire at ISIS members.
 Protesters block roads in condemnation of Medlej’s slaughter and Syrian refugees flee from certain Lebanese areas for fear of a backlash against them.
 
September 7 
 PM Tamam Salam appears in a televised speech, emphasizing commitment to release the detained soldiers and security personnel. Salam notes that the government is in not in a weak position, branding the abductors as faithless savages and extending his gratitude to Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim.
 PM Tamam Salam chairs a meeting for the ministerial crisis-cell at his residence to deliberate on the captives’ issue after the slaughter of Abbas Medlej and follow up on the outcome of the Qatari mediation.
 MP Walid Jumblat continues his tour and makes a stop in the towns of Western Shahhar. Jumblat meets the Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh al-Akl Naeem Qassem, and Sheikh Naseredine Gharib who was appointed by Arslan and lauds the struggles of the Islamic resistance, reiterating that negotiations should be made through the state.
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil attends the meetings of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo and meets Sheikh of Al-Azhar. 
 Minister of the Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Mashnouq cancels his scheduled trip to Qatar to participate in the works of the committee tasked with laying down the criteria for the Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz Award due to the precarious security situation in Lebanon.
 
September 8 
 Roadblocks set up in Seednayel after seven people from Baalbeck were abducted in a tit-for-tat operation countering the kidnap-for-ransom of Ayman Sawan in al-Taybeh. The abducted were later released. Members said to be from Al-Masri family in Hawrtaqla also kidnap four residents from Baalbeck, who originally came from Ersal.
 Minister of Energy and Water Arthur Nazarian holds a press conference at the Zouk power plant in the presence of EDL’s staff and director and holds the Ministries of Justice and Interior responsible for not enforcing the law and for failing to end the contract workers’ “occupation” at the EDL headquarters in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighborhood. Nazarian warns that the failure to resolve this occupation will plunge Lebanon into complete blackouts.
 Tamam Salam receives a delegation of Beirut’s MPs at the Grand Serail and MP Mohammad Qabbani says ‘we won’t allow Beirut to be taken hostage.’
 
September 9 
 After a series of crackdowns in Beqa’a, the Lebanese Army manages to release the abducted citizen Ayman Sawwan from Seednayel.
 Hezbollah issues a statement on the meeting that brought Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah together with General Michel Aoun in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil and Nasrallah’s political aide Huseein al-Khalil. The statement emphasizes the aptness of the choices made by both parties and the need to confront Israel and the takfiri doctrines.
 Former PM Saad Hariri calls for disassociation from all practices that may lead to strife adding that both Sunni and Shia’a should prevent strife from happening.
 Former President of the Republic issues a statement urging the call-up of reserve units and the armament of the Lebanese Army, in the presence of ministers Samir Moqbel, Abdul Mottaleb Al-Hennawi and Alice Shabtini. 
 PM Tamam Salam receives a delegation of the families of the abducted soldiers and security personnel and reassures them that efforts are underway to release their sons with the help of Qatari mediation.
 An-Nussra Front allows the mother and the sister of kidnapped soldier Georges Khoury to visit him at dawn in the Syrian side of Arsal following the mediation of Sheikh Mustafa Hujairi.
 Director General of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, is assigned to relay the demands of the kidnappers of Lebanese soldiers and security personnel to Qatari authorities in Doha.
 
September 10
 The families of the captives pitch up tents and protest in downtownBeirut, demanding the release of their sons.
 Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas announces following the meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with following up on the Syrian refugee file that ‘the migration of Syrians is no longer necessary and that the ministry will be stricter from now on in granting ‘refugee’ status and will discuss the possibility of setting up refugee camps.”
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil meets his Danish counterpart Martin Lidegaard and the two agree on mobilizing efforts to confront extremism.
 Former Minister of Information Walid Daouk honors former President of the Republic Michel Suleiman who reiterates his objection to trading captives for Roumieh’s inmates and to self-security.
 Former President of the Republic Amine Gemayel reveals during an interview on TV that Fouad Seniora informed him that the March 14 Forces was ready to endorse him as presidential candidate, if all the components within the coalition agreed to the proposition.
 Patriarch al-Rai attends a conference on protecting the Christian presence in the Levant, in Washington and urges the US administration to take bigger steps to defend the Christians. 
 33 women file their candidacies all at once for parliamentary elections and announce their objection to the extension of the legislature’s term.
 
September 11
 The Lebanese Army finds a car laden with 75 kilograms of explosives parked in Ain el-Shaa area at the entrance to Ersal.
 The Cabinet convenes at the Grand Serail and agrees to set up trial refugee camps along the border area between Lebanon and Syria in Al-Masnaa and Abboudieh. It also decides to appoint the Election Supervision Committee to be chaired by Judge Nadim Abdul Malak. 
 MP Khaled Daher lashes out at the Army Intelligence and calls on the Saudi King not to deliver the USD 4-billion donation to the Lebanese Army arguing that the sum will be used against the Sunni, the Christians, Arabism and the country as a whole. Ministers Nouhad Mashnuq and Ashraf Rifi emphasize that the opinions expressed are those of Daher and do not represent the viewpoints of the Future Movement.
 Civil society rallies again to protest against the extension of Parliament’s term of office. 
 Patriarch al-Rai says following President Obama’s meeting with the Levant bishops ‘Obama has promised us to ensure the protection of Lebanon.’
 
September 12 
 The Lebanese Army discovers a 200-gram explosive device in the Martyrs Square in Saida.
 US Ambassador to Lebanon, David Hale, announces from the Grand Serail that his country will provide Lebanon with armed Cessna aircrafts to be bought with Saudi funds recently pledged to the Lebanese Army.
 The number of candidates standing for election to Parliament reaches 112.
 Family of martyr Ali Sayyed from Fnaideq, Akkar visits the relatives of martyr Abbas Medlej in Anssar, Baalbeck. Ali Sayyed and Abbas Medlej were two security forces personnel who were beheaded by ISIS.
 “I will pursue the Baabda declaration until the end of time,” says former President of the Republic Michel Suleiman to As-Safir, adding that no one can sway Christian leaderships in politics. 
 
September 13 
 Special UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura visits Lebanon and meets PM Tamam Salam.
 A delegation of Ersal’s residents visits Head of Hezbollah’s Religious Committee, Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek, to thank him for his efforts in releasing two of the town’s inhabitants.
 
September 14 
 A ministerial delegation chaired by PM Tamam Salam and including General Security Chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim meets Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim, in Doha, and talks focus on the Qatari efforts to release the soldiers and security personnel held hostage.
 MP Walid Jumblat visits the family of abducted soldier Saif Zoubiane in his Shouf hometown, Mazra’a, and reiterates the need to accelerate the trials of Roumieh’s Islamist inmates. Jumblat adds that he rejects laying the blame unjustly on PM Tamam Salam.
 An-Nussra Front releases a video footage showing two of the abducted soldiers addressing their families.
 Mass held in Bekfaya to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the assassination of Bashir Gemayel. 
 A Middle East Airlines aircraft was forced to land in Italy because of a bomb scare after Swiss airport security informed the aircraft of an unclaimed piece of baggage aboard the plane.
 
September 15
 Lebanese regions plunge into pitch darkness for three hours due to a technical breakdown in the Zahrani power plant. Contract workers persist in their protest and call out their families upon hearing that the Minister of the Interior had requested the Internal Security Forces to take over EDL’s building in Corniche Al-Nahr. However, the move was deferred in the hope of reaching an amicable understanding. 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil participates in the Paris conference on peace and security in Iraq and meets his American and Russian counterparts, John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov.
 Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani chairs the last meeting of the Higher Islamic Council before the expiry of his term and announces the dissolution of the Council in order to facilitate the tasks of the new Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan.
 Sunni and Shia’a dignitaries of Baalbeck-Hermel meet at Imam Khomeini Center in Baalbeck and agree to expose all perpetrators. They also adopt a pact of honor that prohibits kidnapping and calls for preventing sedition.
 
September 16 
 The deadline for candidates to put themselves forward for the elections scheduled for November 16, 2014 expires, with the total number of candidates standing at 514, including 35 women. The Minister of the Interior and Municipalities points out during the Central Security Council meeting that technical difficulties mar the likelihood of holding the elections.
 Sehikh Abdul Latif Deryan is declared the new Grand Mufti during an inauguration ceremony held at the Mohammad al-Amine mosque in the presence of PM Tamam Salam, a number of religious- both Muslim and Christian- authorities and prominent Islamic figures from the Arab world.
 General Michel Aoun announces the Change and Reform Bloc’s rejection of extending Parliament’s term and reiterates the need to hold elections on time.
 
September 17 
 MP Walid Jumblat receives General Michel Aoun at his residence in Clemenceau. Aoun renews his objection to prolonging the legislature’s term of office and Jumblat notes that he agrees with the rationale that Aoun holds behind his presidential candidacy. Aoun hands Jumblat his new book My Vision for Lebanon.
 UNDP administrator cautions that it would be dangerous to set up refugee camps at the borders between Lebanon and Syria following the meeting of the ministerial committee for Syrian refugee affairs chaired by PM Tamam Salam at the Grand Serail.
The Future Parliamentary Bloc holds firmly that presidential elections should be held before the general elections.
 Speaker Nabih Berri assures during Wednesday’s parliamentary gathering that there are no under-the-table deals to prolong the term of Parliament.
 Former PM Saad Hariri reiterates that there will be no general election unless a President of the Republic is elected first.
 
September 18
 The Cabinet holds a session at the Grand Serail during which it signs previous decrees and agrees on a future session to discuss the situation of Syrian refugees. A debate over Lebanon’s participation in the anti-terrorism conferences in Saudi Arabi and France marks the session.
 Accompanied by his son Taymour and MP Neemeh Tohmeh, MP Walid Jumblat visits former President of the Republic Amine Gemayel at his residence in Bekfaya and the two announce a joint initiative to strengthen the institutions. 
 Shia’a cleric, Hani Fahs who is known for his close ties with March 14 Forces dies at the age of 68 after a battle with an illness.
 Pro-March 8 Forces Sunni figures gather at the residence of former Minister Abdul Rahim Mrad and announce their national pact.
 Minister of the Interior and Municipalities, Nouhad Mashnouq, heads for Moscow.
 Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, challenges the proposition of electing Michel Aoun as president of the republic for two years.
 
September 19 
 A 10-kg explosive device targets a Lebanese Army truck in Ersal killing two soldiers and injuring another three. An-Nussra Front accuses the Army and Hezbollah of fabricating the attack.
 An official of An-Nussra Front informs Anadolu Agency that soldier Mohammad Hamieh has been shot dead but the soldier’s family says that it has been given assurances that Mohammad is still alive.
 The family of slain soldier Abbas Medlej blocks the Baalbeck road and demands capital punishment for the Syrian suspect who has confessed his involvement in the killing.
 
September 20 
 PM Tamam Salam visits Speaker Nabih Berri and states that no negotiations will take place as long as soldiers are being killed.
 An Israeli reconnaissance drone crashes in Mazra’a Sardeh near the borderline and the Lebanese Army transports parts of the plane to a military headquarters in Marjayoun.
 MP Walid Jumblat tours Western Beqa’a and encourages rotation in power, reiterating his call on citizens not to assault Syrian refugees.
 The Lebanese Army conducts air raids in the outskirts of Ersal killing 50 militants as reported by As-Safir. 
 The security meeting held at the Grand Serail concerning the detained soldiers and security personnel stresses its objection to any form of blackmail.
 Father of the slain soldier Ali Kharrat dies of grief at the loss of his son. The two were laid to rest together in a joint funeral.
 An explosive device targets a Hezbollah checkpoint in Khraibeh near Baalbeck but causes no fatalities.
 
September 21 
 MP Walid Jumblat continues his tour of the towns of Western Beqa’a and Rashaya and calls on the Druze to build mosques and re-embrace their Muslim roots. Jumblat adds that if negotiations and trading captives for Roumieh’s inmates are the solution, then he is all for it. 
 The Lebanese government hands its report on the Lebanese who went missing during the Civil War to the families of the missing persons. 
 Car crash on the Jiyeh highway leaves five people dead and six injured.
 The family of the slain soldier Mohammad Hamieh accepts condolences and his father promises vengeance against the Mayor of Ersal Ali Houjairy and Sheikh Mostafa Houjairy, holding both of them accountable for the death of his son. 
 
September 22 
 A delegation chaired by PM Tamam Salam heads for New York to participate in the UN General Assembly. Salam addresses journalists saying he will do his best to bring attention to the issue of captives and obtain support for Lebanon regarding the Syrian refugee crisis.
 Former President of the Republic Michel Suleiman visits former Speaker Hussein Husseini at his residence in Ain Tineh.
 The finance and budget parliamentary committee approves a draft law stipulating the armament of the Lebanese Army at LBP 2400 billion.
 Families of the captives block the Dahr El-Baidar road demanding the release of their sons and also threatening to block all roads. 
 The Muslim Scholars’ Committee reports during a press conference that there are certain parties within the Cabinet who are hindering the path of negotiations to release the captives. The committee announces next Friday to be of support for Ersal in all mosques under the title, “No for slaying Ersal.”
 
September 23
 Parliament postpones its 13th session scheduled to elect a new president until October 9 due to lack of quorum.
 Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah discusses the status quo in Lebanon and the region in a televised speech. Nasrallah states that Hezbollah’s support of the principle of negotiation stems from a strong, not a weak position, for this can lead to the release of captives, stressing his objection to making Lebanon part of the global coalition.
 A soldier from Tekreet, Akkar, dies during an attack on a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Beddawi.
 Patriarch al-Rai visits Grand Mufti Abdul Latif Deryan to congratulate him on his recent election and points out that no one has the right to dominate Lebanon.
 PM Tamam Salam meets the President of Egypt, the King of Jordan and the President of Iraq during his visit to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly.
 Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah receives former Minister Talal Erslan.
 
September 24 
 PM Tamam Salam continues his meetings in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session and meets French, Palestinian and Turkish presidents.
 The Lebanese General Security arrests Syrian singer Assala Nassri at Beirut’s international airport on an arrest warrant allegedly issued by Interpol.  Minister of Justice Ashraf Rifi interferes to denounce the charges brought up against her saying “we will not be tools in the hands of the Syrian regime” and claiming that the charges were nothing but a judicial front for what is essentially a political issue. 
 Minister of the Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Mashnouq assures that a prisoner swap with militants is possible, after taking every law into consideration. 
 Speaker Nabih Berri assures during Wednesday’s parliamentary gathering that there is no connection between the legislative session and the extension of Parliament’s term.
 Families of captive soldiers and policemen continue to block roads in Qlaamoun and Dahr el-Baydar.
 Lebanese Army posts and headquarters come under fire in Tripoli and an attack targets a van transporting soldiers in Akkar. 
 Grand Mufti Abdul Latif Deryan continues to receive well-wishers including an Amal Movement delegation and a Lebanese Forces delegation chaired by MP Strida Geagea.
 Dar el-Fatwa hosts a Muslim-Christian summit in the presence of the heads of religious communities in Lebanon. The final statement underlines the need to accelerate the election of a President of the Republic and reiterates support for the Army, rejecting recourse to weapons internally. It is also decided to carry out an overseas tour to back up Arab Christians. 
 Families of the captive soldiers and policemen resume their blocking of the Daher el-Baidar road and warn of further escalation. 
 The Lebanese Army conducts crackdowns inside Syrian refugee camps in Ersal and arrest 450 suspects. Syrians and residents of Ersal respond by raising the ISIS flag near the municipality’s headquarters and calling on the group to protect them. An-Nussra Front states that the Lebanese should bear the consequences of their support of the Army.
 Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji visits Grand Mufti Abdul Latif Deryan and briefs him on the Army’s action in Ersal, assuring that no siege is laid on the town.
 
 September 26 
 In a speech before the UN General Assembly, PM Tamam Salam stresses Lebanon’s unwavering commitment to fighting terrorism, urging the international community to support Lebanon in bearing the brunt of Syrian exodus. Salam meets US Secretary of State John Kerry. 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil meets his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Mouallem in New York. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas eventually joins the two.
 Minister of the Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Mashnouq says that the government is intending to set up camps for refugees despite the lack of consensus over the decision.
 Former President of the Republic Amine Gemayel calls on candidates who did not get lucky to step back and give a chance to other candidates. 
 An-Nussra Front issues a statement announcing that negotiations will be suspended entirely until all the matters in Ersal are resolved.
 A militant group kidnaps two gendarmes and releases them three hours later after burning down their military vehicles and confiscating their guns.
 
September 27 
 PM Tamam Salam meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York and tells An-Nahar that he requested his help in facilitating the election of a Lebanese President.
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil continues his tour in the US and notes that the Syrian refugee camps will eventually burst.
 Minister of Social affairs Rashid Derbas informs that Kuwait will finance the Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon.
 The Muslim-Christian spiritual meeting held at the residence of Mohammad Hamieh’s family in Beqa’a promotes coexistence and urges protection of the Syrian refugees. 
 
September 28 
 Minister of the Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Mashnouq says during a ceremony held by the Makassed Association in his honor that Lebanon is not a Muslim country but a country of diversity, adding that even if it carries religious slogans, the ISIS flag is deemed worthless when used to promote the slaughter of Lebanese troops. 
 Former PM Saad Harri criticizes the statement presented by the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces to the UN, in which it condemns the practices of the Lebanese Army against refugees.
 Civil Society activists protest about the tweets of journalist Faissal Qassem against the Lebanese Army by invading the offices of Al-Jazeera in Beirut. Qassem had ridiculed the practices of the Army in Syrian refugee camps in Ersal.
 
September 29 
 The Parliament Bureau Committee’s meeting approves the agenda of the legislative session scheduled for Wednesday, including foremost the approval of the salary scale after amending the figures.
 A Hezbollah delegation chaired by politburo chief Ibrahim Sayyed visits Grand Mufti Abdul Latif Deryan to congratulate him on his recent election. The delegation also pays a visit to the Former Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani.
 The General Security denies deporting any Syrians back to Syria as reported by An-Nussra Front.
 MP George Edwan visits the families of the captives in Dahr el-Baydar and assures that the problem can never be solved by blocking roads and assaulting the government.
 Military Judge Riad Abou Ghaida sentences Hussein al-Hassan, operator of the Twitter account of the Baalbeck-based Ahrar al-Sunna Brigade, to death.  
 
September 30 
 Supreme Secretary of the Iranian National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, meets PM Tamam Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during his trip to Lebanon and reveals that Iran is to offer equipment to the Lebanese Army to assist it in countering terrorism.
 The Future Parliamentary Bloc continues to support the government in resolving the captives’ crisis and rejects the families’ recourse to roadblocks.
 Minister of Agriculture Akram Shehayyeb conveys a message from MP Walid Jumblat to General Michel Aoun. 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil meets his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius in France and assures that his meeting with Al-Mouallem was duly arranged. 
 Security forces prevent the families of the captives from blocking the road in Al-Masnaa area.
 A Qatari mediator enters the outskirts of Ersal and returns accompanied with First Adjutant Kamal Houjairy who was abducted at his farm in Ersal two weeks ago. 

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