Man Abducted in Arsal's Wadi Hmeid Freed
A Lebanese man kidnapped Wednesday in the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Arsal was freed on Thursday by his abductors.
“Maher al-Amatouri, who was nabbed from Wadi Hmeid in Arsal's outskirts, has been released,” LBCI TV reported on Thursday evening.
He had been abducted at the hands of Syrian gunmen while transferring rocks from a stone-crushing plant in the area, according to media reports.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Socialist Party issued a statement hailing “the role of Arsal's residents, who offered help in the case from the very first moments.”
PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat “had delegated MP Marwan Hamadeh to meet with the family of the abducted young man in order to follow up on the case,” the statement said.
It noted that Jumblat and the PSP's leadership had communicated with all competent security agencies to “secure the safe return of the kidnapped young man.”
Amatouri hails from the Chouf region of Barouk.
Arsal witnessed in August an infiltration by jihadist gunmen who withdrew to its outskirts after abducting a number of soldiers and policemen.
The militants executed three of them and are threatening to kill more hostages if the Lebanese government does not meet their demands.
The army has since deployed heavily in the area but kidnappings are still frequent there.
Y.R.
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