Syrian Assailants Kidnap Lebanese Men in Aleppo, Sayyed Nasrallah Appeals for Calm: High Level Contacts to Free Kidnapped Men

Batoul Wehbe

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah and Amal movement are following the kidnapping of the Lebanese men in Aleppo very seriously, calling on people not to cut off roads or exercise any violence because it does not serve the issue.

Sayyed Nasrallah was speaking in the name of Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri and the leaderships of Hezbollah and Amal movement who are working on the highest levels to secure their release.

A group of Syrian militants abducted a number of Lebanese visitors who were on their way back from Iran where they visited the holy sites there.
His eminence while condemning the act appealed for calm among people. "We want cooperation from people and we call them not to cut roads or burn tyres," Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that he fears foreigners may cause problems with the army and other groups and take the country into the unknown.

In response to some people who threatened to kidnap Syrian nationals in Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said that this act of revenge is forbidden and that the Syrian nationals are "our brothers, and nobody should make such unacceptable act personally."

Sayyed Nasrallah called on the Lebanese government to shoulder its responsibility concerning this case and make every necessary effort to secure the release of the Lebanese men.

"Contacts started with the Syrian authorities and with some influential regional states since the early moment, we did not stop short at any way for the sake of their release… Your sons and families are our responsibility and you know us how we shoulder our responsibilities," Sayyed Nasrallah announced.

Syrian Assailants Kidnap Lebanese Men in Aleppo

Local Editor

The so-called Free Syrian Army on Tuesday abducted a number of Lebanese visitors who were on their way back from Iran where they visited the holy sites there.

Buses belonging to the Badr al-Kobra and Imam Al-Sadr Islamic tourism agencies were attacked by 40 assailants who kidnapped all men from two buses in the northern province of Aleppo shortly after crossing the Syrian-Turkish border. Women who were aboard the buses were allowed to go free.

Protests erupted as the news of the kidnapping circulated with angry people blocking road in the Beirut southern suburb (Dahiyeh) but stopped as soon as Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appealed for calm and promised families of highest levels of efforts for their release.

Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar appeased people and families of the kidnapped by telling them that Sayyed Nasrallah, Speaker Nabih Berri are personally following this case and making every effort to secure their release. "Women and some men who were in the buses are now safe and under the protection of the Syrian authorities," Ammar said.

"The leaderships of Hezbollah and Amal Movement are following the case at the highest levels moment by moment and minute by minute," the MP added.

The names of the kidnapped men according to media reports: Abbas Shoaib, Hassan Mahmoud, Hussein al-Siblani, Ali Abbas, Abu Ali Saleh, Mahdi Ballout, Hussein Arzouni, Hussein Omar, Mustafa Yassine, Mohammad Monzer, Awad Ibrahim, Ali al-Ahmar, Ali Zgheib, Rabih Zgheib, Ali Termos and Ali Safa.

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