LEBANON: Thirteen Lebanese Shi'ite men have been kidnapped in the Syrian city of Aleppo on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran, their families say.

Record ID: 280858

  • Title: LEBANON: Thirteen Lebanese Shi'ite men have been kidnapped in the Syrian city of Aleppo on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran, their families say.
  • Date: 23rd May 2012
  • Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (MAY 22, 2012) (REUTERS) RELATIVES OF SHI'ITE PILGRIMS ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPED IN SYRIA BY FREE SYRIAN ARMY SIGN OUTSIDE THE OFFICE OF COMPANY THAT OPERATES TOURS IN SYRIA
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Reuters ID: LVA5DQAG3M32BFTVU06BK79HR9G1
  • Story Text: Syrian rebels kidnapped at least 13 Lebanese Shi'ite men on Tuesday (May 22) in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo as they were returning home from a pilgrimage in Iran, families of the men said.
    Families took to the streets of the southern Beirut suburb where most of the kidnapped men live, blocking several roads. The families said a bus loaded with Shi'ite pilgrims was stopped by the Free Syrian Army as it crossed the Turkish border to Syria on the way back from Iran.
    "The Free Army took the men and told the women to leave. The Free Army is demanding in return for releasing these men to have Free Syrian Army rebels held by the regular army to be released. So they told them go back to Lebanon and tell them to negotiate with us," one relative said.
    Angry relatives burned tyres and blocked several streets in southern Beirut, a stronghold of the Shi'ite group Hezbollah and home to many of the kidnapped men. Several residents said black smoke was billowing from several locations.
    Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station said the group's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was due to make a statement.
    The Free Syrian Army is pitted against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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