The rebel Free Syrian Army on Tuesday abducted 16 Lebanese men in
the northern Syrian province of Aleppo who were on their way back from a
pilgrimage trip to Iran.
“Buses belonging to the Badr al-Kobra and Jannat al-Redwan
pilgrimage campaigns were ambushed in Aleppo shortly after crossing the
Syrian-Turkish border,” al-Jadeed television reported.
A woman who was in the convoy told al-Jadeed: “After we crossed
the Turkish-Syrian border, we were ambushed by gunmen from the Free Syrian Army
in the Azzaz area. They forced the men to dismount the buses and took them to
an unknown destination and left us there.”
Al-Jadeed said women headed to a Syrian police station and that
policemen reassured them that they have started negotiations with the
kidnappers.
State-run National News Agency put the number of those abducted at
16 while Syrian media said an "armed terrorist gang" had kidnapped 11
Lebanese and their Syrian driver.
NNA identified the 16 abductees as Abbas Shoaib, Hassan Mahmoud,
Mehdi Ballout, Hussein al-Siblani, Ali Abbas, Abu Ali Saleh, Hussein Omar,
Mustafa Yassine, Ali Zgheib, Awad Ibrahim, Mohammed Monzer, Hussein Arzouni,
Ali al-Ahmar, Ali Safa, Rabih Zgheib and Ali Termos.
"My two brothers-in-law were among about 12 people kidnapped
by the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo as they were heading back to Beirut on board
a bus after visiting religious sites in Iran," said one man who refused to
give his name.
"The women who were with them were allowed to go free,"
he told Agence France Presse.
The man was among family members of those detained and hundreds of
supporters who gathered on Tuesday afternoon in the Beirut southern suburb of
Bir al-Abed to demand their release.
Meanwhile, protesters blocked roads in the Beirut southern suburbs
of al-Kafaat, Bir al-Abed, Shatila and al-Msharrafiyeh in protest at the
kidnap.
Roads were later reopened after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah urged calm in a televised speech and called on protesters to leave
the streets.
The brother of one of those kidnapped said the Free Syrian Army
had vowed to release the men in exchange for FSA members detained by Syrian
authorities.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s office said he was making the
necessary contacts to ensure the release of the Lebanese abducted.
"Prime Minister Miqati has urged families of the kidnapped to
remain calm and assured them he was following the issue closely to ensure the
safety of those kidnapped and their quick release," a statement said.
One man who refused to give his name said his two bothers-in-law
were among those abducted.
"They were heading back to Beirut on board a bus after
visiting religious sites in Iran," said the man. "The women who were
with them were allowed to go free."
The brother of Abbas Shaayb, who organized the pilgrimage, said
the women were staying in a hotel in Aleppo.
"Let's see what the friends of the Free Syrian Army in
Lebanon are going to do now," said the man, referring to the Sunni-led
opposition in Lebanon that has backed the 14-month uprising in neighboring
Syria.
The reported kidnappings were sure to further inflame sectarian
tensions in Lebanon over the Syrian crisis.
Clashes between the pro- and anti-Assad camps in the country have
left some 12 people dead in the past 10 days.
Nasrallah said it was necessary for all Lebanese to remain calm.
"The atmosphere is tense because of the events of recent
days," he said. "Everyone is urged not to make matters worse."
|
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/41069
|
No comments:
Post a Comment