freepalestine
16th August 2012, 14:13
Armed Lebanese kidnap 11 Syrians
http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/5cols/leading_images/clan.jpg
Lebanese masked gunmen from the al-Mokdad clan gather on a street in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Photo:AFP – STR)
Published Thursday, August 16, 2012
A Syrian citizen in eastern Lebanon was kidnapped by unknown gunmen on Thursday morning, taking to 11 the number of abductions inside Lebanese borders in one day.
The man, who is believed to have Lebanese as well as Syrian citizenship, was taken away at gunpoint by four men, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA named the man as Hussam Khashroum and said the gunmen opened fire on his car, which was parked outside Chtaura hospital in the Bekaa valley.
Earlier on Thursday, the Mukhtar al-Thaqfi Brigade announced it had kidnapped five Syrians in Beirut and another five in the Bekaa.
A spokesperson for the group accused the men of being members of the Free Syrian Army.
“We've started our operations in Beirut and the Bekaa, and every day we will hold something new,” the spokesperson told television network LBC.
“Any person that appears to support the Free Syrian Army will be a target of ours,” he added.
The abductions come just one day after the Lebanese al-Mokdad family kidnapped more than 20 Syrians and a Turkish national in response to the abduction of their relative in Syria by rebels.
On Thursday the family warned Lebanon's foreign minister that the Turkish hostage, Toufan Teyken, would be their first victim should their kidnapped relative in Syria, Hassan al-Mokdad, be killed.
A meeting took place on Thursday between the Mokdad clan and Mansour, with the family rejecting a plea from the foreign minister to free the Turkish hostage.
"We will not release the Turkish hostage," the family reportedly told Mansour, according to al-Jadeed.
Turkey's foreign ministry said Ankara was making "intensive efforts" to secure the release of the Turkish businessman.
The Mokdad clan also extended their threats to Qatari and Saudi nationals in Lebanon.
Armed, dressed in army fatigues, and wearing masks, family members displayed their captives on Lebanese television on Wednesday, warning that more measures will be undertaken unless their relative is released.
Both the Mukhtar al-Thaqfi Brigade and the Mokdad clan, although Shia Muslim, have no affiliation to either Hezbollah or Amal, Lebanon's two main Shia factions.
The Mokdad family will also meet the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday to discuss the fate of their kidnapped relative in Syria, as well as those of the hostages in Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Hatem al-Mokdad, a brother of the man kidnapped by rebels in Damascus, said that the clan have also kidnapped a Saudi national, although the Saudi ambassador on Wednesday told NNA that he had no information that a citizen was among the captives.
In response to the threats, Qatar has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, the state news agency reported on Wednesday.
"Due to the unstable security situation, Qatar's embassy in Beirut has urged Qatari nationals to leave Lebanon immediately," the news agency said.
Saudi Arabia has also urged its citizens to leave "immediately."
(Al-Akhbar, NNA, AFP)
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/armed-lebanese-group-kidnaps-11-syrians
http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/5cols/leading_images/clan.jpg
Lebanese masked gunmen from the al-Mokdad clan gather on a street in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Photo:AFP – STR)
Published Thursday, August 16, 2012
A Syrian citizen in eastern Lebanon was kidnapped by unknown gunmen on Thursday morning, taking to 11 the number of abductions inside Lebanese borders in one day.
The man, who is believed to have Lebanese as well as Syrian citizenship, was taken away at gunpoint by four men, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA named the man as Hussam Khashroum and said the gunmen opened fire on his car, which was parked outside Chtaura hospital in the Bekaa valley.
Earlier on Thursday, the Mukhtar al-Thaqfi Brigade announced it had kidnapped five Syrians in Beirut and another five in the Bekaa.
A spokesperson for the group accused the men of being members of the Free Syrian Army.
“We've started our operations in Beirut and the Bekaa, and every day we will hold something new,” the spokesperson told television network LBC.
“Any person that appears to support the Free Syrian Army will be a target of ours,” he added.
The abductions come just one day after the Lebanese al-Mokdad family kidnapped more than 20 Syrians and a Turkish national in response to the abduction of their relative in Syria by rebels.
On Thursday the family warned Lebanon's foreign minister that the Turkish hostage, Toufan Teyken, would be their first victim should their kidnapped relative in Syria, Hassan al-Mokdad, be killed.
A meeting took place on Thursday between the Mokdad clan and Mansour, with the family rejecting a plea from the foreign minister to free the Turkish hostage.
"We will not release the Turkish hostage," the family reportedly told Mansour, according to al-Jadeed.
Turkey's foreign ministry said Ankara was making "intensive efforts" to secure the release of the Turkish businessman.
The Mokdad clan also extended their threats to Qatari and Saudi nationals in Lebanon.
Armed, dressed in army fatigues, and wearing masks, family members displayed their captives on Lebanese television on Wednesday, warning that more measures will be undertaken unless their relative is released.
Both the Mukhtar al-Thaqfi Brigade and the Mokdad clan, although Shia Muslim, have no affiliation to either Hezbollah or Amal, Lebanon's two main Shia factions.
The Mokdad family will also meet the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday to discuss the fate of their kidnapped relative in Syria, as well as those of the hostages in Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Hatem al-Mokdad, a brother of the man kidnapped by rebels in Damascus, said that the clan have also kidnapped a Saudi national, although the Saudi ambassador on Wednesday told NNA that he had no information that a citizen was among the captives.
In response to the threats, Qatar has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, the state news agency reported on Wednesday.
"Due to the unstable security situation, Qatar's embassy in Beirut has urged Qatari nationals to leave Lebanon immediately," the news agency said.
Saudi Arabia has also urged its citizens to leave "immediately."
(Al-Akhbar, NNA, AFP)
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/armed-lebanese-group-kidnaps-11-syrians