'Severely Beaten' Man Dropped in Riyaq after Brief Abduction

Unknown assailants kidnapped on Friday a citizen in the Bekaa region of Riyaq before dropping him later in the day near his house.

"The abductee Ibrahim Shiha was dropped from an unknown car outside his house in Riyaq" on Friday evening, state-run National News Agency reported.

It quoted one of his relatives as saying that no ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

LBCI television said the man was "severely beaten" during his brief abduction.

Earlier on Friday, NNA said that the abductors, riding in a black Cherokee and a silver Mercedes, kidnapped Shiha, also known as Abou Marwan, from the Bekaa town of Riyaq.

The man is the owner of al-Amin restaurant.

The assailants collided with several vehicles on the road while carrying out the kidnapping, added NNA.

Soon after the news of the abduction broke out, demonstrators blocked the Riyaq-Baalbek highway in protest against the incident.

Kidnappings for ransom have grown in frequency in recent months, the latest of which was the abduction of a child, Michel al-Saqr, from Zahleh.

He was kidnapped briefly, but released without ransom, said media reports.

M.T./Y.R.

D.A./S.D.B.