Arsal Man Briefly Abducted for 'Cursing God', 3 Nabbed in Masharii al-Qaa

A resident of Arsal was briefly abducted on Wednesday from a Syrian refugee encampment in the northeastern border town, after gunmen accused him of “cursing God.”

State-run National News Agency said the man was released after his relatives threatened to “torch” the encampment.

It had earlier reported that “Arsal resident Abdul Ghani Zaarour was kidnapped at the hands of armed men riding two tinted-glass, plateless SUVs.”

The abduction occurred “at a Syrian refugee encampment,” NNA added, noting that Zaarour owns the land parcel on which the campsite is set up.

The man was then taken to Arsal's outskirts, according to the agency.

One of Zaarour's relatives quoted refugees who live at the encampment as saying that “he was abducted because he cursed God.”

Later on Tuesday, NNA said the man was released after he was “beaten up by his kidnappers.”

Meanwhile, LBCI television reported that “armed men kidnapped Khaled al-Hujeiri, his son and his son-in-law in Masharii al-Qaa” near Arsal.

Extremist armed groups took positions in Arsal's outskirts after they were ousted from the Syrian Qalamun region last year.

They overran the town around two months ago and engaged in deadly battles with the Lebanese army, during which around 35 troops and policemen were taken hostage.

The militants eventually freed a number of hostages while three were executed.

They have also kidnapped a number of civilians from areas in and around Arsal, the last of whom was Zahle resident Toufic Wehbi who was freed Wednesday for a $50,000 ransom.

Y.R.