Lebanese Shiite clan vows to abduct more Syrians
Source: AP
BEIRUT (AP) -- A powerful Shiite Muslim clan in Lebanon on Thursday claimed to have abducted more Syrian nationals and vowed further kidnappings in retaliation for the seizure of a family member by rebels in Syria this week, as Syria's civil war threatened to break open violent rivalries in its neighbor Lebanon.
The wave of kidnappings raises the dire scenario that the battle for control over Syria will ignite tensions in Lebanon, a country with an explosive sectarian mix, with deep divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions and with its own history of civil war.
>
Armed members of the al-Mikdad clan, a powerful Shiite family with tribal connections in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley where revenge killings are common, said Wednesday they had kidnapped more than 20 Syrian nationals and a Turk in Lebanon in retaliation for the abduction of their relative, Hassane Salim al-Mikdad, who was captured in Syria this week.
Rebels who kidnapped al-Mikdad claimed he was a member of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a staunch supporter of President Bashar Assad's regime. Hezbollah and his family deny this.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_LEBANON_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-16-07-11-26
