The Army Command announced on its X account on Monday afternoon that its intelligence services arrested three Syrians involved in the kidnapping of Lebanese Forces (LF) Jbeil Coordinator Pascal Sleiman on Sunday.
The total number of arrests has reached five, following the Lebanese army’s morning announcement of its arrest of two Syrians involved in the kidnapping.
According to media reports, Pascal Sleiman is still alive.
The media quoted sources close to the case as saying that Pascal Sleiman was taken to Syria, and the motives for his abduction were financial rather than political. They said that army units have been deployed in Akkar and are working to free him.
Sleiman was abducted on Sunday evening in the village of Hakel, caza of Jbeil. He was on his way from the locality of Al-Kherbeh, where he was offering condolences to the family of a deceased man, to his own village, Mayfouk, when four armed individuals in a white Subaru blocked his path and forced him, by force of arms, to get out of his car and into theirs.
According to media sources, the Army Intelligence found the car that was used by the kidnappers in Tripoli. Preliminary investigations revealed that it is a stolen car and carried foreign license plates, and that the kidnappers are part of a car theft gang.
Pascal Sleiman’s abduction caused a stir in the Jbeil district, where rallies were held in Jbeil, Amchit and Mastita, while the security services conducted an investigation, under the direct supervision of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi and Army Commander-in-Chief General Joseph Aoun.
The kidnapping also sparked a wave of condemnations by political figures, including former president Michel Sleiman who blamed the state of insecurity and chaos on "the collapse of institutions, constitutional vacuum, loss of state sovereignty and futile wars."
The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) called on security forces to exert all possible efforts to uncover the circumstances and motives of the rapt, secure Sleiman’s safe return, hold the perpetrators and accomplices accountable, and enforce the law to prevent further tension and unrest.
PSP MP Hadi Abou el-Hosn denounced the kidnapping, underlining the suspicious timing when Lebanon is facing great dangers due to hostilities at the (southern) border.
"We have great trust in the Lebanese army and security forces to reveal the details of the incident and liberate Sleiman from his kidnappers," Abou el-Hosn stressed.
For his part, MP Ashraf Rifi highlighted the "suspicious circumstances" of the kidnapping of a member of the Lebanese forces that "places Lebanon in high security risks, jeopardizing its stability, or what is left of it."
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/242681"]
The total number of arrests has reached five, following the Lebanese army’s morning announcement of its arrest of two Syrians involved in the kidnapping.
According to media reports, Pascal Sleiman is still alive.
The media quoted sources close to the case as saying that Pascal Sleiman was taken to Syria, and the motives for his abduction were financial rather than political. They said that army units have been deployed in Akkar and are working to free him.
Sleiman was abducted on Sunday evening in the village of Hakel, caza of Jbeil. He was on his way from the locality of Al-Kherbeh, where he was offering condolences to the family of a deceased man, to his own village, Mayfouk, when four armed individuals in a white Subaru blocked his path and forced him, by force of arms, to get out of his car and into theirs.
According to media sources, the Army Intelligence found the car that was used by the kidnappers in Tripoli. Preliminary investigations revealed that it is a stolen car and carried foreign license plates, and that the kidnappers are part of a car theft gang.
Pascal Sleiman’s abduction caused a stir in the Jbeil district, where rallies were held in Jbeil, Amchit and Mastita, while the security services conducted an investigation, under the direct supervision of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi and Army Commander-in-Chief General Joseph Aoun.
The kidnapping also sparked a wave of condemnations by political figures, including former president Michel Sleiman who blamed the state of insecurity and chaos on "the collapse of institutions, constitutional vacuum, loss of state sovereignty and futile wars."
The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) called on security forces to exert all possible efforts to uncover the circumstances and motives of the rapt, secure Sleiman’s safe return, hold the perpetrators and accomplices accountable, and enforce the law to prevent further tension and unrest.
PSP MP Hadi Abou el-Hosn denounced the kidnapping, underlining the suspicious timing when Lebanon is facing great dangers due to hostilities at the (southern) border.
"We have great trust in the Lebanese army and security forces to reveal the details of the incident and liberate Sleiman from his kidnappers," Abou el-Hosn stressed.
For his part, MP Ashraf Rifi highlighted the "suspicious circumstances" of the kidnapping of a member of the Lebanese forces that "places Lebanon in high security risks, jeopardizing its stability, or what is left of it."
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/242681"]
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