The Daily Star - Protesters block roads in north over kidnapping, arrest of fugitive, May 11 2012

By Antoine Amrieh

ABBOUDIEH, Lebanon: Demonstrators blocked the Abboudieh border crossing in north Lebanon Thursday, protesting the abduction of a local resident, while the Tripoli-Akkar road was blocked by residents following the morning arrest of a fugitive.

Authorities reopened the Abboudieh crossing after dozens of residents blocked the road in the morning, following the cross-border kidnapping of a Lebanese man.

Security sources, speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, said that residents of the village of Abboudieh blocked the border crossing in protest over the abduction of Mahmoud Mohammad Ibrahim, 40.

They said Ibrahim, who hails from Abboudieh, was standing close to a nearby former General Security position around 7 a.m. when unidentified individuals crossed the border from Syria and snatched him.

Efforts by Ibrahim’s family to secure his release did not produce results Thursday.

Ibrahim’s family said that they would continue to block the road until Ibrahim is released, but at 11:30 a.m., police intervened to clear the road, promising the protesters that they would pursue the kidnappers.

The police had initially diverted traffic to the Arida border crossing.

Some protesters said that Ibrahim was still in Lebanon while others insisted that he was lured to the border with Syria and kidnapped. Residents called on the Lebanese authorities to intervene and make the necessary contacts with the Syrian authorities to limit what they described as “repeated Syrian violations.”

Separately, police said Thursday that the kidnappers of a Lebanese man who was abducted last week were asking for an estimated $2 million in ransom.

Andre Gerges Elias, 74, went missing on May 5 while working on his property in Behwayta in Zghorta, North Lebanon near his village of Minyara.

Meanwhile, dozens of residents from the Tripoli neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh blocked the Tripoli-Akkar road in both directions for two and a half hours. The protesters burned tires and called for the release of Ahmad Khodor Masri, who was arrested Thursday on multiple charges.

Masri, who named is nine arrest warrants, was taken into custody after opening fire on police. The army and police were later able to clear the road.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/May-11/173015-protesters-block-roads-in-north-over-kidnapping-arrest-of-fugitive.ashx#axzz1uXzZXYcO