BEIRUT:
Residents from the north Lebanon region of Wadi Khaled released Sunday several
men they kidnapped in the area earlier in the day in revenge for the morning
abduction of a man who is now thought to be in Syria.
Three
people, two Syrian and one Lebanese identified as Hikmat Yousef Khalil from Ain
Zayt, of the original six thought to have been kidnapped by the residents
remain captives.
Rami
Khozaal, the mayor of Wadi Khaled, told The Daily Star that the men were
kidnapped following the abduction of Mohammad Suleiman.
Sleiman,
who hails from Wadi Khaled, was kidnapped at 6.30 a.m. in Masoudieh in
circumstances that remain unclear although he is thought to have been handed
over to Syrian authorities.
Angered
by the news of Suleiman’s abduction, residents of Wadi Khaled staged a protest,
blocking the main road in their area and called on the government to intervene
and resolve the issue.
The
blocking of roads by burning tires soon escalated to the erection of makeshift
checkpoints, where people’s identification documents were searched.
Khalil
and four Syrians were snatched at these checkpoints.
The
Lebanese Army deployed in the Akkar region, north Lebanon, to prevent possible
clashes between residents.
Asked
whether such abductions might lead to direct clashes between residents, Khozaal
said Wadi Khaled could turn into another Tripoli.
The northern city of
Tripoli witnessed two separate deadly clashes last month that left at least 24
killed and over 100 wounded, sparking fears of a spike in sectarian tensions
across the country.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-10/176308-north-lebanon-man-kidnapped-in-tit-for-tat-abduction.ashx#axzz1xTxHA45d
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