The World - News from Jan. 4, 1988

French mediator Lucien Bitterlin left Lebanon after a weekend visit and said that Abu Nidal’s terrorist group assured him it will free two young French sisters before the end of this month. Bitterlin, head of a French pro-Arab lobbying group, had flown to Beirut at the invitation of Abu Nidal’s Revolutionary Council of Fatah to play a role in the release of Marie-Laure, 6, and Virginie, 5. They were kidnaped with their mother, Jacqueline Valente, and five Belgians two months ago from a yacht in the Mediterranean. The adults were accused of being Israeli agents. Bitterlin said he did not see the girls but “was emphatically assured that they are both in very good health.”