Syria Conflict Spills into Lebanon with Rash of Abductions

Source: The New York Times

Published: August 15, 2012

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Spillover from the Syrian conflict hit Lebanon in a frightening new way on Wednesday with a mass abduction of more than 20 Syrians inside Lebanese territory, which their captors called revenge for the kidnapping of a Lebanese relative by rebels inside Syria.

The captors of the Syrians, who were displayed in a video shown on Lebanese television, threatened to cause havoc in the streets and go on an extended kidnapping spree inside Lebanon until their family member was set free. “The next few hours and next few days will determine what will happen,” one masked captor said outside the family’s compound in a Shiite suburb of Beirut.

While the circumstances of the kidnappings were in dispute, the events nonetheless spread panic across Lebanon, which has been increasingly vulnerable to violence reverberating from Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began nearly 18 months ago. Extended families with differing allegiances straddle both countries, and the use of hostages signaled the rise of abduction as a tactic by antagonists in the conflict.

Fears of further abductions, especially in Lebanon, increased as Lebanese television networks reported that shelling and airstrikes by the Syrian military in Azaz, a suburb of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, killed some or all of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims who had been kidnapped by rebels in May. Activists said many more people may have been killed by Syrian artillery and airstrikes in Azaz as well.

Those claims could not be independently verified, but the widening alarm could be seen in extra security precautions taken in Beirut. By Wednesday afternoon, according to Lebanese officials, additional guards had been assigned to the embassies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the main allies of the Syrian insurgency. Saudi Arabia advised its citizens to leave Lebanon.

In interviews with reporters in Lebanon, the family of the kidnapped Lebanese man, Hassan Salim al-Mikdad, said that they had taken the hostages to avenge the abduction of their relative in Damascus on Monday.

His rebel captors, in an online video posted that night said he was a sniper from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group, sent to Syria to support loyalists of Mr. Assad, a close Hezbollah ally. Hezbollah denied that Mr. Mikdad was a member, and his family said he had moved to Damascus to escape personal debts.

The Free Syrian Army has denied having anything to do with the kidnapping of Mr. Mikdad in Damascus, but soon after the Mikdad family announced its own kidnappings, another Lebanese family said its son had been kidnapped in Syria.

Several analysts said the most recent abductions may just be the beginning.

Commenting on the violence in Lebanon & Syria, Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS, said:

“I condemn the violence from all sides in Lebanon and Syria. The arming of rebels, kidnapping, torture and killings has to stop immediately as it will only lead to greater violence. I have been warning for over a year now that the Syrian conflict could spill over into neighbouring countries. Sadly this has started to happen.

“I call on all parties to step back from the brink of an all out civil and regional war, which would lead to a massive loss of life and destruction. The violence must be de-escalated and all parties must pursue diplomacy to bring about a peaceful political solution or everyone will lose out.”