Kidnapped Baalbek Man, 8 Syrians Released in Swap

Mohammed al-Tufayli, a Lebanese man kidnapped in the eastern city of Baalbek last week, has been released in a swap that involved eight Syrians abducted by his family, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported Friday.

VDL said that the exchange took place on Thursday night. It did not give further details.

Al-Tufayli family members said last Wednesday that they kidnapped the eight Syrians in retaliation for the capture of Mohammed in the outskirts of the town of Nahle.

“After Faisal Haidar al-Maarrawi from the Syrian town of al-Maarra and his brother Rifaat along with their gang kidnapped our son Mohammed Medhat al-Tufayli, several young men from the family abducted eight Haidar members,” who were working in livestock grazing in Nahle, said the family statement.

Among them are Khaled Haidar, his brother Ahmed, Hussein Haidar, and Mohammed Darwish.

There have been several retaliatory kidnappings along sectarian lines in border regions, the result of the spillover of the Syrian war.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance backs the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while the March 14 alliance and mainly Sunnis support the rebels seeking to topple him.