BAALBEK, Lebanon: Gunmen from a Shia clan kidnapped a man from a Sunni town in Lebanon yesterday in the latest incident of sectarian kidnaps related to the conflict in Syria, a security official said.
“Gunmen from the Jaafar clan kidnapped a man from the town of Arsal,” in northern Lebanon, the official said.
The wave of sectarian kidnappings began on Sunday when Hussein Kamel Jaafar, 37, was kidnapped by unidentified assailants, and reportedly taken into Syria.
In revenge, armed men from the clan have kidnapped 12 residents of Arsal, two of whom have been released.
Yesterday, the army deployed in the Sharawni district of Lebanon’s Baalbek, where many members of the Jaafar clan live, searching homes for captives.
Residents say there were attempts to negotiate a settlement between residents of Arsal and the Jaafar clan, but the bid fell through before the kidnap.
The majority of Arsal’s inhabitants support the revolt in neighbouring Syria, while most of the population of Hermel and Baalbek, where the Jaafar clan is based, are Shias who back Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime.
The conflict in Syria has exacerbated tensions in Lebanon. The Sunni-led March 14 political movement supports the rebels, while the powerful Shia movement Hezbollah and its allies back Assad, an Alawite whose faith is an offshoot of Shia.
The latest incidents come seven months after dozens of foreigners, mostly Syrians, were abducted by another Shia clan, Al Muqdad.
Once dominated politically and militarily by Damascus, Lebanon is sharply divided over the war in Syria — which the United Nations says has killed at least 70,000 people since March 2011 — and has seen frequent violence linked to the conflict.AFP
