Meqdad Family Urges Release of Man Nabbed in Arsal, Threatens Retaliation

The al-Meqdad family and the residents of the Baalbek town of Maqneh on Saturday issued a statement urging the release of Youssef al-Meqdad who was abducted in Arsal on Thursday.

“After we waited for three days to know the fate of our son, after no one intervened other than some goodwill seekers, and after all information and investigations confirmed that he is in the town of Arsal, we call on security agencies and the army to intervene to unveil the fate of our son and secure his release as soon as possible,” said a statement issued after a meeting at Mohammed al-Meqdad's residence in Maqneh.

The conferees warned that their town has become “unsafe,” noting that “any Arsal resident will become a target for Maqneh's residents if Youssef al-Meqdad was not freed.”

On Thursday, young men from Arsal kidnapped Youssef while he was buying goods in their town, state-run National News Agency reported.

The abduction comes in retaliation for a recent robbery which Arsal residents have blamed on young men from al-Meqdad family, NNA said.

Later on Thursday, LBCI television reported that "two people who hail from Arsal were abducted in the town of Maqneh in retaliation for the kidnapping of a man from al-Meqdad family in Arsal."

Tit-for-tat abductions are frequent in the area and last month a Arsal resident was abducted on the road of the neighboring town of al-Labweh.

In March, a tit-for-tat wave of abductions erupted between residents of Arsal and the Hermel region, after unknown individuals kidnapped 30-year-old Hussein Kamel Jaafar who hails from the Hermel town of al-Bustan. The incident prompted members of the Jaafar clan to nab several Arsal residents.

In the wake of the kidnappings, the army deployed on the international highway and set up new posts, especially at al-Labweh's entrance which is the only route to and from Arsal.