The families of the Lebanese pilgrims held in Aazaz city in Syria, staged a sit-in protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Rabieh, Lebanon, on Sunday. In a statement to the Turkish ambassador in Lebanon, they threatened to escalate their protest after the new year, with planned activities against Turkish interests in Lebanon and the Arab world. The statement held Turkey responsible for the ongoing "humanitarian crime" against the kidnapped Lebanese. They said that failing to resolve this matter demonstrates Turkey's unwillingness to erase the bad memories from the time of the Ottoman empire.