Baath cell accused of kidnapping Syrian rebels arrested in Lebanon

 

BEIRUT (The Daily Star)- Lebanese authorities have arrested a Baath Party cell allegedly involved in handing over Syrian rebel fighters to Bashar Assad's regime after kidnapping them in Lebanon, security sources said Friday.

The sources told The Daily Star that the all-Lebanese, seven-member cell was arrested in Kfar Qouq, in the southeastern province of Hasbaya, earlier this week.

Another security source told The Daily Star that the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces has so far arrested 9 suspects, including several members of the Hezbollah-linked Resistance Brigades.

Police raided the house of Majed Mansour, a Baath Party official in a Bekaa Valley village called Gaza, but he had escaped, the source said.

But the raid resulted in the arrest of his brother, who was also suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of Syrian Mohammad Naamani one week ago.

The other abductee was identified as Syrian Fayez Abdallah, and was kidnapped one month ago. The source said that the two hostages were transferred to Syria either through a tunnel in Qusaya, or through a Syrian army controlled crossing in the village of Yanta in Rashaya al-Wadi.

The sources said one group member, identified as Haitham Hamad, was wounded during the raid.

Hamad was taken to a local hospital and kept under strict watch by the police, the sources added.

The cell has been in close contact with Ali Deeb, who was an official of the intelligence branch of Syria’s Baath Party during the era of Syrian tutelage over Lebanon, according to one source.

Local leaders from the Bekaa Valley met Friday to condemn the reported kidnappings and praise police efforts.

The Mufti of Bekaa and Zahle Khalil al-Mais accused the Resistance Brigades of standing behind the “condemned kidnappings,” and underlined that “such acts harm the prestige of the state and its security agencies.”

Supporters of the group rounding up suspected rebels also held a meeting in the Bekaa town of Khiara to denounce the arrests. The meeting included members of the Baath party and other pro-Syrian regime Lebanese parties.

They accused the police of acting “like a gang,” warning it against repeating such actions.

The wife of rebel fighter Mohammad Naamani, Wafaa al-Akle, told The Daily Star that her husband was kidnapped after being chased by two cars last week.

She claimed that her two children, aged two and 13, were also abducted for three hours before being left in a field.

She said she had not yet received any calls from the kidnappers to inform her about the location of her husband, who she said arrived to Lebanon almost two years ago for medical treatment after he was wounded in fighting.

She explained that Naamani joined the Free Syrian Army as soon as the conflict erupted nearly four years ago. He had spent seven years in a Syrian prison, she added.

Akle also said her husband was wanted in Lebanon after being sentenced to one year and three months for using a fake Lebanese ID to enter the country.